20 Mark

Lörrach's Kreisausschuss — the district administrative committee — issued this note in 1918 as the German imperial economy ground toward collapse. Like most Notgeld of that final war year, it filled an acute gap caused by coin hoarding and the near-complete disappearance of Reichsbank notes from everyday commerce in smaller towns. The Kreisausschuss had no banking authority in any formal sense; it acted out of administrative necessity.

At 20 Mark, this sits at the upper end of typical district-level emergency denominations from Baden, where smaller values dominated. Most Lörrach Notgeld was redeemed and destroyed after 1919 stabilization measures took hold.