5 000 000 Mark

Ludwigshafen's 5-million Mark note belongs to the frantic summer-autumn 1923 Notgeld wave, when municipal and commercial issuers across Germany were legally authorized — then effectively compelled — to print emergency currency because the Reichsbank simply could not supply denominations fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. Weiss & Hameier was a local commercial printer, not a specialist banknote firm, and that shows in the production values typical of provincial emergency issues from this period.

By the time notes in this denomination reached circulation, their purchasing power was already eroding within days of issue. The Rentenmark stabilization of November 1923 rendered the entire series worthless almost immediately.