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5 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Frankfurt am Main (Der Magistrat) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | GUTSCHEIN DER STADT FRANKFURT a/M FÜNFTAUSEND MILLIONEN MARK FÜNF MILLIARDEN Serie C Die Einlösung dieses Scheines erfolgt bei der Stadthauptkasse Frankfurt a. M. Der Zeitpunkt, mit dem die Gültigkeit abläuft, wird öffentlich bekannt gemacht. FRANKFURT A·M. DER MAGISTRAT 24. OKTOBER 1923 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in olive-gold tones entirely composed of an intricate guilloche security underprint of overlapping wave and scale patterns forming a dense decorative field across the full surface. At the centre a tall pointed vignette — possibly a stylised spire or coat-of-arms cartouche — rises within a lozenge-shaped clearing in the guilloche. The denomination text FÜNFTAUSEND MILLIONEN is faintly legible in letterpress across the mid-section of the reverse, largely absorbed into the overall pattern. |
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| Comments |
Frankfurt's five-billion Mark note was issued during the final, near-vertical phase of Weimar hyperinflation, when municipal authorities across Germany were authorized to print their own emergency currency — Notgeld — because Reichsbank notes were arriving too slowly to keep pace with daily price movements. By autumn 1923, a single U.S. dollar exchanged for roughly four billion marks, which put this denomination in the range of everyday transactions rather than exceptional ones.
Municipal printing meant local oversight and limited production runs, which varied considerably in quality. The guilloche underprint was the primary defense against counterfeiting — ironic given that the notes themselves were racing toward worthlessness before any forger could profit.