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5 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Mettmann (City of Mettmann) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Green and violet bicolour Notgeld note with a dark violet border carrying the issuer legend on all four sides. The central green vignette presents a historical scene of a horse-drawn postal coach changing horses (Postwagenwechsel) in 18th-century Mettmann, with period-costumed figures flanking the carriage. The denomination 'Fünf-Millionen' is overprinted in large Gothic blackletter script across the upper portion of the vignette, with 'Mark' and a printed serial number at lower centre. A caption below the scene reads '18. Jahrhundert / Postwagenwechsel / in Mettmann.' |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | X FÜNF · MILLIONEN · MARK X X STADT · METTMANN X HERAUSGEGEBEN AUF GRUND DER ERMÄCHTIGUNG DES REICHSFINANZMINISTERIUMS VOM 25. AUG. 1923. RÖM.ZC. 428 II. DIE STADT METTMANN ZAHLT BEI IHREN KASSEN DEM VORZEIGER MARK FÜNF MILLIONEN Herzog Adolf von Berg verleiht den Amte Mettmann die Freiheit im Jahre 1424 5 000 000 DER ZEITPUNKT DER EINLÖSUNG WIRD BEKANNTGEGEBEN METTMANN, DEN 20. SEPT. 1923. DER BÜRGERMEISTER: VOGT |
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| Comments |
Mettmann's five-million-mark note dates from the summer of 1923, when German municipal authorities were legally permitted — and practically compelled — to issue their own emergency currency as the Reichsbank struggled to print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. By August of that year, the mark was losing value so rapidly that denominations which had seemed absurd in January were inadequate by September.
The Vogt credit almost certainly refers to a local commercial artist or printer's house designer rather than a nationally known figure. Notgeld at this scale of inflation was produced fast and cheap — longevity was not a design consideration.