Stendal was one of hundreds of German municipalities that issued emergency currency — Notgeld — during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark collapsed so rapidly that existing notes became worthless before new ones could be printed. The solution, used widely that autumn, was mechanical overprinting: applying a new face value directly onto already-printed stock. This note began life as a 3,000,000 Mark note and was overprinted to 3,000,000,000 Mark — a thousandfold revaluation on a single piece of paper — reflecting the pace at which purchasing power was evaporating in October and November of that year.
The watermarked paper suggests the underlying 3,000,000 Mark stock was produced with some intention of durability, which the overprint entirely overtook in economic terms within days of issue.
Stendal was one of hundreds of German municipalities that issued emergency currency — Notgeld — during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark collapsed so rapidly that existing notes became worthless before new ones could be printed. The solution, used widely that autumn, was mechanical overprinting: applying a new face value directly onto already-printed stock. This note began life as a 3,000,000 Mark note and was overprinted to 3,000,000,000 Mark — a thousandfold revaluation on a single piece of paper — reflecting the pace at which purchasing power was evaporating in October and November of that year.
The watermarked paper suggests the underlying 3,000,000 Mark stock was produced with some intention of durability, which the overprint entirely overtook in economic terms within days of issue.