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5 000 000 000 000 Mark Deutsche Reichsbahn
| Issuer | Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Imperial Railway) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Unprinted white border surrounds the note face, with the denomination 'Fünf Billionen Mark' in large Gothic blackletter type occupying the centre, above the parenthetical clarification '(Fünftausend Milliarden)'. A tall ornamental guilloche vignette in pale blue-green forms the right-hand underprint, while the left margin carries the denomination repeated vertically in Gothic script. The issuer heading 'Deutsche Reichsbahn' appears at top centre, a red serial number at top right, a circular Reichsverkehrsministerium eagle seal at lower left, the series prefix 'HR-41' at lower centre, and the manuscript signature of Reichsverkehrsminister Rudolf Oeser at lower right above his printed title. |
|---|---|
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| Signature(s) | Rudolf Oeser |
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| Comments |
The Deutsche Reichsbahn issued its own emergency currency during the hyperinflation peak of late 1923 because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet wage obligations. Railway workers — numbering in the hundreds of thousands — had to be paid, and paid frequently, in denominations that kept pace with a currency losing value by the hour. The Reichsbahn's notes circulated alongside Reichsbank issues and a flood of other Notgeld from municipal and industrial issuers, all legally tolerated under the circumstances.
Rudolf Oeser was president of the Reichsbahn at the time of issue, a position he had held since the railway's reorganization in 1920.