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250 000 000 Mark linen issue
| Issuer | Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 250 000 000 Mark (250 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in purple, orange, and green on white linen, the obverse centres on an oval cartouche enclosing a kneeling female allegorical figure holding a spear, flanked by groups of workers and sheaves of grain rendered in a bold Expressionist idiom, with the denomination '250 MILLIONEN' in large purple lettering below and '250' repeated in each corner. The surrounding border carries multiple lines of running German text referencing the Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld, the date '2.4.1922', municipal authorisation, and current price-index statistics. Outer marginal panels along the top and bottom edges contain additional economic data reflecting the hyperinflation of 1923. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse, printed on white linen in green, orange, and purple, presents a dynamic typographic composition characteristic of Bielefeld's Expressionist Notgeld design, with large cursive script renderings of 'Goldmark' and 'Leinene' radiating across the field in multiple orientations. A bold central sunburst vignette frames the denomination '250 MILLIONEN MARK' in large purple numerals against a yellow ground. The margins carry running German text with topical commentary on inflation and note manufacture, supplemented by current postal rate and rye price data; the printer's imprint and legal protection notice appear along the lower edge. |
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| Comments |
Bielefeld's Stadtsparkasse is responsible for one of the more unusual episodes in Weimar-era emergency currency: when paper stock ran critically short in 1923, the city turned to local textile mills and issued Notgeld printed on linen cloth. The decision was practical, not theatrical — Bielefeld had the weaving infrastructure, and fabric held up better under the brutal handling rates of hyperinflation, when notes might change hands dozens of times in a single day.
E. Gundlach's printing on textile required different ink formulations and pressure calibration than conventional banknote work. Surviving examples often show ink cracking along fold lines, a known condition issue specific to the linen series.