20 Mark

Pößneck is a small industrial town in Thuringia, and like hundreds of German municipalities it briefly became its own monetary authority during the hyperinflation emergency of 1923. These Magistrat-issued Notgeld notes were a stopgap — the Reichsbank simply could not print and distribute currency fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power, so local governments, businesses, and even private firms stepped in to fill the wage-payment gap.

The dry seal was the municipality's primary authentication device, applied individually to each note. Serial numbering was equally ad hoc — production runs varied widely and records were poorly kept, making precise census figures for most Thuringian municipal issues impossible today.