Catalog
5 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Kandern (City of Kandern, Federal state of Baden) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadtgemeinde Kandern 5 Milliarden Gutschein über Fünf Milliarden Mark Gültig bis zum Aufruf Kandern, 3. November 1923 Der Gemeinderat: No Buchdr. Fritz Günther, Lörrach |
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| Protection description | Circular ink stamp of the Stadtgemeinde Kandern applied to the reverse, bearing the municipal coat of arms and the legend 'STADTGEMEINDE KANDERN' |
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| Comments |
Kandern is a small town in the far southwest of Baden, close to the Swiss and French borders — not the sort of place one expects to find five-billion-mark emergency currency. But by late 1923, municipal authorities across Germany were printing their own Notgeld simply to keep commerce moving, as the Reichsbank's output could not keep pace with hyperinflation that was doubling prices within hours. Fritz Günther's print shop in nearby Lörrach handled the job, which was standard enough for small-town issues of this period.
The official stamp substitutes for more sophisticated security — the entire anti-counterfeiting burden placed on a single ink impression, which tells you everything about how long anyone expected these notes to remain valid.