5 000 000 000 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft

Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft — the Stuttgart automaker that would merge with Benz & Cie. just three years later — was among hundreds of German industrial firms authorized to issue their own emergency currency during the hyperinflation crisis of 1923. At the peak of the collapse, the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough, and companies began paying wages in Notgeld denominated in figures that had been unimaginable twelve months earlier. Five billion marks for a single note tells you precisely where Germany stood in late 1923.

Factory-issued wage notes like this one were typically printed locally and redeemed quickly — their lifespan measured in days, not years.