5 000 000 Mark

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.