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3 000 000 Mark Stadt-Sparkasse
| Issuer | Stadt-Sparkasse Bielefeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 3 000 000 Mark (3 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a bold Fraktur-script heading reading 'Stadtsparkasse Bielefeld' across the upper portion, with the denomination 'DREI MILLIONEN MARK' rendered in large decorative letterpress type at centre. A lower vignette illustrates a medieval historical scene with figures, horses and a fortified structure, accompanied by a historicising caption along the bottom margin referencing Bielefeld's medieval tribute to Stift Herford in 1150. Framing inscriptions in curved text around the border provide redemption and payment instructions, with the issue date 'BIELEFELD, DEN 11.8.1923' and reference to the Stadtkämmerei; the printer's imprint 'DRUCK: E.GUNDLACH A.-G. BIELEFELD' appears vertically on the left margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries the heading '3 STADT-SPARKASSE BIELEFELD 3 MILLIONEN' in bold decorative type across the upper field, flanking large numeral '3' vignettes on both sides. The central composition presents a dramatic expressionist scene of the Counts of Ravensberg swearing allegiance to the citizens of Bielefeld, rendered in a bold woodcut-style vignette with figures in medieval costume against a floral guilloche underprint. Peripheral border text contains contemporary inflation-era price statistics for railway fares, consumer goods, and postage rates dated 1 August 1923, forming an unusual documentary surround unique to Bielefeld's Notgeld issues. |
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| Comments |
Bielefeld's municipal savings bank issued a sprawling series of emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923, and the Stadt-Sparkasse notes are among the more unusual in that they were backed — at least nominally — by the city's linen industry rather than municipal credit alone. The 3,000,000 Mark denomination sits at the lower end of what the series eventually reached; within months, Bielefeld was issuing notes in the billions.
E. Gundlach A.G. was a local commercial printer, not a specialist banknote house, which is exactly what you'd expect given that Reichsbank-approved printers were overwhelmed and municipalities were left to arrange their own production.