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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 lettering | Deutsche Reichsbahn Fünf Billionen Mark (Fünftausend Milliarden) Dieser Schein wird an allen öffentlichen Kassen wie gesetzliche Zahlmittel angenommen; er kann vom 1. Dezember 1923 ab zur Einlösung aufgerufen werden. Berlin, den 27. Oktober 1923 Der Reichsverkehrsminister Oeser (Translation: German Imperial Railway / Five Trillion Mark / (Five Thousand Billion) / This note shall be accepted at all public registers as legal means of payment; it can be redeemed from 1 December 1923 onward. / Berlin, 27 October 1923 / The Imperial Minister of Transport / Oeser) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted and plain, showing only the blind embossing and ink show-through of the obverse text and guilloche underprint visible through the thin paper stock, with no deliberate design elements applied to this side. |
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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.