Catalog
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| Issuer | Reichsbankdirektorium |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Reichsbanknote Fünf Milliarden Mark zahlt die Reichsbankhauptkasse in Berlin gegen diese Banknote dem Einlieferer. Vom 1. Februar 1924 ab kann diese Banknote aufgerufen und unter Umtausch gegen andere gesetzliche Zahlungsmittel eingezogen werden Berlin, den 20. Oktober 1923 REICHSBANKDIREKTORIUM Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted and blank, showing only the show-through of the obverse design in mirror image through the thin paper stock, with no independent design elements, vignettes, or lettering of its own. |
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| Comments |
Five billion marks — issued September 1923, when Weimar hyperinflation had so thoroughly collapsed the currency that this denomination was obsolete almost before the ink dried. The Reichsbank was printing notes faster than they could be transported to banks; at the peak, Germany had over thirty paper mills and nearly a hundred printing firms working simultaneously to meet demand.
The September 1923 series was superseded within weeks by even larger denominations. By November, a single US dollar exchanged for roughly 4.2 trillion marks, which made this note worth a fraction of a cent in real terms.