Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 000 000 000 Mark Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-Aktien-Gesellschaft
| Issuer | Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-Aktien-Gesellschaft |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 000 000 000 Marks (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 |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in a two-colour scheme of deep red-brown and purple on plain paper, with a fine guilloche underprint filling the central panel. The denomination "Fünf Milliarden Mark" is set in large Gothic blackletter type dominating the centre, above a circular purple company seal bearing the initials "B.G." The numeral "5" appears in large format at both the left (purple) and right (red) margins, each accompanied by the word "Milliarden", while the issuing text and serial number are printed in smaller Roman type at the top and foot of the central panel respectively. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-Aktien-Gesellschaft zahlt Fünf Milliarden Mark für diesen Gutschein. Der Einlösungstag wird öffentlich bekannt gegeben. Gelsenkirchen, 1. Oktober 1923 Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-Aktien-Gesellschaft 5 Milliarden |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG was one of the largest coal and steel combines in the Ruhr, and like dozens of major German industrialists in late 1923, it issued its own notgeld denominated in billions of marks — not because it had banking authority, but because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet payroll. At the hyperinflation peak, workers were sometimes paid twice daily to outrun the afternoon depreciation.
Corporate emergency issues of this scale were tolerated by authorities as a practical necessity, then rapidly demonetized once the Rentenmark stabilized the currency in November 1923.