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20 Deutsche Mark
| Issuer | Deutsche Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
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| In circulation to | 24 July 1948 |
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| Obverse description | At right, an intaglio portrait vignette of a young woman in traditional German dress, set against an alpine mountain landscape background within a decorative engraved border. The centre field carries the denomination in large gothic script reading 'Zwanzig Reichsmark' over a fine guilloche underprint, with the date and issuing authority text below, accompanied by the Reichsbank eagle seal and a facsimile signature. At lower left, a purple adhesive validation stamp bearing the value '20' and the year '1948' was applied for East German currency reform purposes. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | 20 Reichsmark 20 Reichsbanknote WER BANKNOTEN NACHMACHT ODER VERFÄLSCHT ODER NACHGEMACHTE ODER VERFÄLSCHTE SICH VERSCHAFFT UND IN VERKEHR BRINGT WIRD MIT ZUCHTHAUS NICHT UNTER ZWEI JAHREN BESTRAFT (Translation: Whoever copies or falsifies banknotes or acquires copied or falsified banknotes or brings them into circulation will be punished with imprisonment for not less than two years.) |
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| Comments |
The 20 Mark issued under the Deutsche Reichsbank header in 1948 is an oddity of postwar administrative inertia — the Reichsbank had been formally dissolved by Allied Control Council Law No. 43 in March 1948, yet notes bearing its name continued to be prepared and distributed through the occupation period. This note belongs to the German Mark currency introduced in the Soviet occupation zone, not the Deutschmark launched simultaneously in the western zones.
A print run of just over 12 million is modest for a circulating denomination, and attrition has been considerable. The single watermark is the only security feature — relatively thin coverage for a note that circulated in economically turbulent conditions.