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5 000 000 000 000 Mark Reichsbahndirektion
| Issuer | Reichsbahndirektion Kassel (Imperial Railway Directorate, Kassel) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Printer | Weber & Weidemeyer, Kassel |
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| Obverse description | Pink-tinted notgeld printed in black letterpress on plain paper, with an ornate rectangular border of interlaced scrollwork. The large numeral '5' appears at upper left within the central text panel, followed by 'Billionen Mark' in bold blackletter script, with the written-out denomination '(Fünf Billionen Mark)' beneath; below this, a multi-line redemption text in Gothic script references the Eisenbahnhauptkasse Kassel, dated 'Cassel, den 24. Oktober 1923'. A prominent embossed dry seal bearing a German imperial eagle is applied at lower left, flanked by two manuscript signatures, with the issuer name 'Reichsbahndirektion' in display blackletter above them; a vertical left-margin panel carries the denomination legend 'Fünf Billionen Mark' alongside a stylised winged vignette. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted save for the show-through of the obverse letterpress impression in mirror image, visible through the thin paper stock; the embossed dry seal is likewise apparent in relief at centre right, and the serial number and series letter are faintly legible in reverse at upper centre, confirming the single-sided printing technique typical of German inflation-era notgeld. |
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| Comments |
By late 1923, Germany's hyperinflation had pushed even transport authorities into emergency currency printing. The Reichsbahndirektion Kassel — a regional railway administration, not a bank — issued this five-trillion-mark note as Notgeld to pay its own workers when the Reichsbank could no longer supply adequate physical currency fast enough. Weber & Weidemeyer, a local Kassel press, handled production, which was entirely typical of the Notgeld system: regional printers churning out denominations that would have been unimaginable eighteen months earlier.
The embossed seal was the issuer's primary authentication device — a meaningful detail given that forgery of high-denomination emergency notes was a real concern during the final weeks of the inflation.