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20 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Duisburg (Stadtkasse Duisburg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark navy blue and salmon-red on cream paper, the note is framed by an ornate typographic border with foliate corner ornaments and the numeral '20' repeated in each corner. The denomination 'Zwanzig Milliarden MARK' is set in large bold Gothic blackletter typeface at centre, supported by a fine salmon guilloche underprint. Below, a three-line bearer clause in smaller Gothic script names the städtische Sparkasse, the Stadthauptkasse, and their branch offices in Duisburg as the paying institutions, followed by validity conditions referencing announcement in the Duisburger Tageszeitungen; the note is dated 'DUISBURG, DEN 25. SEPT. 1923' at lower left, with the issuing authority 'DER OBERBÜRGERMEISTER i.V.' and a manuscript signature at lower right, and a five-digit serial number in gold at lower left. A vertical label at the far right edge repeats '20 Milliarden MARK' in upright typeset within a decorative cartouche. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is an uninked show-through impression of the obverse printing, appearing in pale blue-grey on the cream paper stock, with no independent design elements; the full obverse layout — border, denomination text, body clauses, and serial number — is visible in mirror image through the thin paper. |
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| Comments |
Duisburg's municipal treasury issued this note during the hyperinflation peak of autumn 1923, when Reichsbank supply lines were overwhelmed and local authorities across Germany resorted to Notgeld simply to meet payroll. By November 1923, twenty billion marks would barely buy a loaf of bread — if that. The Stadtkasse was one of dozens of municipal issuers scrambling to print denominations that would have been unimaginable eighteen months earlier.
Local emergency issues at this scale were frequently printed on whatever stock was available and often show ink absorption inconsistencies as a result.