5 000 000 Mark

Pforzheim issued its own emergency currency — Notgeld — like hundreds of German municipalities scrambling to fill the void left by Reichsbank notes that became worthless faster than they could be printed. By mid-1923, the hyperinflation had progressed to the point where denominations in the millions were functionally small change; a 5,000,000 Mark note from this period would have bought little more than a loaf of bread, if that.

Municipal issues like this were produced locally, often by whatever printer had paper and ink available. Pforzheim, a city built on the jewelry and watchmaking trades, had the industrial infrastructure to manage local print runs without outside contracting.