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5 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Marktgemeinde Berchtesgaden (Market Town of Berchtesgaden) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Fünf Milliarden Mark Marktgemeinde Berchtesgaden Gutschein über Fünf Milliarden Mark Berchtesgaden,den 5.Oktober 1923. rechtsk.Bürgermeister Dieser Gutschein wird nach Behebung des Bargelmangels jedoch nicht vor dem 1.Jan.1924 zur Einlösung gegen gesetzlich gültige Zahlungsmittel aufgerufen. |
| Reverse description | Unprinted plain white paper; uniface note with no design or lettering on the reverse. The show-through of the obverse printing and the arc-cross watermark pattern (Keller#174) are visible when held to light. Two circular cancellation punch-holes are visible at upper left and upper right, corresponding to those on the obverse. |
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| Comments |
Berchtesgaden's five-billion-mark note is a product of the most acute phase of German hyperinflation — late 1923, when municipal and commercial entities across Germany were legally empowered to issue emergency currency (Notgeld) because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet daily transactional demand. A market town in the Bavarian Alps had no business issuing paper money under any normal monetary order, yet here it is.
The watermarked paper is notable — most late-stage inflation Notgeld dispensed with security features entirely as a cost and time-saving measure. That this issue retains a watermark suggests either pre-existing paper stock or a printer with the foresight to maintain minimal standards when denominations had already become absurd.