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20 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Frankenstein in Schlesien (City of Frankenstein, Lower Silesia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 000 000 000 Marks (20 000 000 000) |
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| Obverse description | Typographically printed Notgeld voucher on cream paper with a fine red guilloche underprint. The face is enclosed within a teal letterpress decorative border of interlaced ribbon and wave ornaments, with the denomination 'Zwanzig Milliarden Mark' set in bold display type below the heading 'Gutschein über'. A central text block in smaller typeface states the liability clause, the acceptance by the Reichsbank, and the validity condition, followed by the place and date 'Frankenstein i. Schles., 30. Oktober 1923', with series designation 'SERIE H' at lower left, the issuing authority 'Der Magistrat.' at lower right, and a manuscript signature below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein über Zwanzig Milliarden Mark Für den Betrag von 20 Milliarden Mark haftet die Stadtgemeinde Frankenstein in Schlesien. Die Reichsbank nimmt diesen Gutschein in Zahlung. Die Gültigkeit erlischt mit dem vom Magistrat bekanntzugebenden Zeitpunkte. Frankenstein i. Schles., 30. Oktober 1923. SERIE H Der Magistrat. Druckereigesellschaft Frankenstein. |
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| Comments |
Frankenstein in Schlesien — now Ząbkowice Śląskie in Poland — was one of hundreds of German municipalities forced to print their own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsbank simply could not produce denominations large enough fast enough. By the time notes at this scale were being issued, the trillion-mark threshold was only weeks away. A 20-billion-mark note was not an extravagance; it was barely a day's wages.
The Druckereigesellschaft Frankenstein was a local commercial printer pressed into monetary service — the kind of operation more accustomed to handbills than banknotes. Quality control across the Notgeld series from this issuer is accordingly variable.