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20 000 000 Mark Reichsbahndirektion
| Issuer | Reichsbahndirektion Köln (Deutsche Reichsbahn) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 20 000 000 Mark Gutschein der Deutschen Reichsbahn Reihe A No über Zwanzig Millionen Mark Dieser Gutschein wird von allen Eisenbahn- und andern öffentlichen Kassen in Zahlung genommen. Er verliert seine Gültigkeit einen Monat nach Aufkündigung in den Kölner Ortsblättern. Köln, den 11. August 1923. Reichsbahndirektion Köln DEUTSCHE REICHSBAHN |
| Reverse description | Printed in grey-black on cream paper, the reverse carries a dense background of Weimar Constitution microtext filling the entire field. The denomination 'Zwanzig Millionen Mark' is printed in large bold Gothic script across the centre, with a winged railway wheel vignette positioned centrally within the lettering. The value '20 000 000 Mark' appears in a ruled panel at the top and is repeated inverted at the bottom, and vertically along both side margins, all within the same star-and-dot guilloche border as the obverse. |
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| Comments |
The Reichsbahndirektion Köln was one of the regional directorates of the Deutsche Reichsbahn empowered to issue emergency money — Notgeld — during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the central banking system had effectively lost the ability to supply denominations fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. Railway administrations across Germany became de facto local issuers out of necessity: workers needed wages in usable denominations, and the Reichsbank could not deliver them in time.
By the time a 20-million-Mark note was practical currency in Cologne, that sum would buy roughly a loaf of bread. The note's utility was measured in days.