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5 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt- und Landkreis Gelsenkirchen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 000 000 000 Mark (5 000 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed Notgeld in dark brown on buff paper stock, with a central guilloche underprint in pink-violet; the denomination 'Fünf Milliarden Mark' is set in large Gothic blackletter type across the centre, with the numeral '5 Milliarden Mark' repeated within a decorative lozenge panel at right. Two circular official seals — bearing the Gelsenkirchen municipal arms and the Landkreis eagle respectively — appear at lower centre, flanked by two manuscript authorisation signatures. Series letter 'B' and a red serial number are positioned in the upper right corner. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, presenting a plain cream-buff paper surface; faint ghosting of the obverse text is visible by transparency through the thin paper stock, with no design elements, vignettes, or lettering applied to this side. |
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| Comments |
Gelsenkirchen's municipal authority issued this note at the absolute peak of Weimar hyperinflation — by late 1923, local governments across Germany were printing their own emergency currency (Notgeld) because the Reichsbank simply could not supply denominations large enough for daily transactions fast enough. A loaf of bread was running into the billions. The Stadt- und Landkreis series was a functional necessity, not a collector's exercise.
Municipal printing at this scale was improvised and fast. Expect variation in ink saturation and registration across examples from the same run.