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20 000 Mark Reichsbanknote
| Issuer | Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark blue-black on a salmon-pink guilloche underprint, with a red side panel at left bearing the denomination numeral '20000' in large vertical letterpress. The central field carries the Gothic script inscription 'Zwanzigtausend Mark' in large display type, flanked by '20000' numerals and the heading 'REICHSBANKNOTE' in roman capitals. Below the denomination text, a multi-line letterpress legend states the payment obligation, recall clause, and the issue date 'Berlin, den 20. Februar 1923', with the 'Reichsbankdirektorium' imprint and two circular Reichsbank eagle seals flanking multiple facsimile signatures in the lower portion. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 20000 | REICHSBANKNOTE | 20000 | Zwanzigtausend Mark | zahlt die Reichsbankhauptkasse in Berlin gegen diese Banknote dem Einlieferer | Vom 1. Juli 1923 ab kann diese Banknote aufgerufen und unter Umtausch gegen andere gesetzliche Zahlungsmittel eingezogen werden | Berlin, den 20. Februar 1923 | Reichsbankdirektorium |
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| Comments |
February 1923. The Reichsbank was still months away from the absolute nadir of the hyperinflation, but the 20,000 Mark denomination — unthinkable before the war — already felt insufficient by the time notes reached circulation. This series was produced entirely within Germany, the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin running presses essentially without pause as the currency destroyed itself in real time.
The watermark is the sole security feature, a detail that mattered little when a note's purchasing power could halve within a week of printing.