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20 000 000 Mark

Issuer Stadt Kiel (City of Kiel)
Year 1923
Type Local banknote
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Obverse lettering Notgeld der Stadt Kiel
GEGEN EINLIEFERUNG DIESES SCHEINES ZAHLT DIE STADTHAUPTKASSE KIEL
NICOLAI
KIEL 1. SEPTEMBER 1923
ZWANZIG MILLIONEN MARK
Oberbürgermeister
Bürgermeister
Stadtverordneter Vorst. Städt. Stadtkasse
Dieser Schein verliert seine Gültigkeit innerhalb eines Monats nach erfolgter öffentlicher Aufforderung des Magistrats zur Einlösung
Reverse description The reverse is unprinted, presenting a plain cream-coloured paper surface with faint show-through of the obverse design visible through the paper stock. No vignette, text, or decorative elements are present on this side.
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Comments

Kiel's municipal authority, like hundreds of German cities and towns, was forced into emergency currency production as Reichsbank denominations became obsolete almost as soon as they were printed. By August–September 1923, the inflationary spiral had accelerated to the point where a 20-million Mark note represented a day's wages at best — and far less within weeks of issue. This is Notgeld in its most desperate phase, not the collectible commemorative variety of 1920–21.

City-printed issues from this period were typically lithographed locally under considerable time pressure, and Kiel's examples are no exception to the general rule of rough production quality. The paper itself often shows rapid deterioration from heavy short-term handling — these notes moved fast and were discarded faster.

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