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20 000 000 000 Mark overprint on 1 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Heidelberg (City of Heidelberg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 000 000 000 Marks (20 000 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse of the underlying 1 000 000 000 Mark note is printed in grey-blue on plain paper, with a guilloche border framing the central text field. To the left, a vignette of the earliest depiction of the Heidelberg city seal — a rampant heraldic lion — is accompanied by the caption 'ÄLTESTE DARSTELLUNG DES HEIDELBERGER STADTSIEGELS' and a circular embossed dry stamp. The main text, set in black letterpress, reads 'EINE MILLIARDE MARK' and carries the date 'HEIDELBERG DEN 20. OKTOBER 1923', a serial number, and the facsimile signature of the Oberbürgermeister; diagonally applied over the entire face is a bold red overprint reading 'Zwanzig Milliarden Mark', revaluing the note to 20 000 000 000 Mark. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | STADT HEIDELBERG EINE MILLIARDE MARK STADT HEIDELBERG ZWANZIG MILLIARDE MARK |
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| Comments |
Heidelberg's municipal treasury issued this note as a local emergency solution to the catastrophic currency collapse of late 1923, when the Reichsbank could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. The 20-milliard overprint on a 1-milliard base note is a direct physical record of that acceleration — the underlying billion-Mark note was already obsolete before the ink on it had dried.
The dry stamp was the city's primary anti-counterfeiting measure, reflecting just how improvised these Notgeld emissions were. Heidelberg, like hundreds of other German municipalities, had temporary authority to issue emergency currency but almost no infrastructure to do it securely.