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5 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Heidelberg (City of Heidelberg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries a full-frame vignette reproducing the miniature of Hartmann von Aue from the Codex Manesse, held in the Heidelberger Universitätsbibliothek, rendered in a woodcut-style print with green tonal wash. The knight is shown mounted on a galloping horse, clad in full heraldic armour bearing eagle devices, and carrying a lance with a pennant; a decorative scroll of rosette-filled roundels trails to the upper right. A caption in Fraktur script below the vignette identifies the subject and its manuscript source. |
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| Protection type | Dry stamp |
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| Comments |
Heidelberg issued this note during the peak inflationary spiral of August–September 1923, when the Reichsbank could not print fast enough to meet local demand and municipalities across Germany were authorized to issue their own emergency currency — Notgeld — to keep commerce moving. At five million marks, this denomination would have bought a modest meal, briefly, before losing that purchasing power within days.
The dry stamp — an embossed seal pressed into the paper without ink — was the city's primary authentication method, cheap and fast to apply at volume. It offered little real security but was sufficient for notes expected to circulate for weeks at most.