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5 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Kiel (City of Kiel) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The face is printed in dark red on a pale green guilloche underprint and carries the city of Kiel's coat of arms as a central vignette, flanked by two smaller shield emblems at the lower centre. The denomination 'Fünf Milliarden Mark' is set in large Gothic blackletter script across the width of the note, with the numeral '5' rendered in large outline figures on both left and right as underprint elements. A series letter and serial number appear in the upper field, and four manuscript signatures of municipal officials are inscribed above their respective titles along the lower portion. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain cream-coloured paper surface with no vignette, text, or decorative elements. |
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| Comments |
Kiel's municipal administration — like hundreds of German cities in late 1923 — was forced to issue its own emergency currency as the Reichsbank's printing capacity and distribution network collapsed under hyperinflation. By the time five-billion-mark denominations were necessary, the purchasing power of the currency was deteriorating faster than notes could be physically transported and issued. Municipal and regional authorities stepped in not out of legal mandate but out of sheer necessity, issuing Notgeld that was technically illegal tender beyond their own jurisdictions.
The five-billion-mark face value dates this note to October or November 1923, the absolute peak of the inflation spiral, weeks before the Rentenmark stabilization effectively ended the crisis.