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20 000 000 000 Mark Schönau im Wiesental
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Schönau i. W. (Town Municipality of Schönau im Wiesental) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadtgemeinde Schönau i. W. Zwanzig Milliarden Mark zahlt die Stadtgemeinde Schönau durch ihre Zahlstellen dem Einlieferer dieses Gutscheines. SCHÖNAU i. W., 3. November 1923. Der Gemeinderat: Lit. B.b. Alb. Wetzel, Schönau i. W. |
| Reverse description | Plain paper with a light guilloche underprint throughout. Two text panels in brown letterpress within decorative ruled borders: the left panel states validity and redemption conditions through the Sparkasse Schönau i. W.; the right panel carries the standard German Imperial counterfeiting penalty clause. |
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| Comments |
Schönau im Wiesental was a small textile-manufacturing town in the Black Forest, and like hundreds of German municipalities in late 1923, it was forced to print its own emergency currency — Notgeld — because the Reichsbank simply could not supply denominations large enough to meet daily wage payments as hyperinflation spiraled. A 20-billion-Mark note buying perhaps a loaf of bread was not unusual by October–November 1923.
Alb. Wetzel was a local printer, not a specialist banknote firm, which shows. Municipal Notgeld of this period was often produced on whatever stock and equipment were available, and longevity was never the point — these notes were intended to be spent within days, sometimes hours, before the purchasing power evaporated further.