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| Issuer | Stadt Erfurt (City of Erfurt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | 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 entire reverse is covered by an intricate salmon-on-cream guilloche underprint composed of interlocking rosettes and lathe-work circles of varying sizes. Superimposed across the centre in large open numerals is the denomination '5 000 000', integrated into the guilloche pattern. The designer's monogram 'AK' appears in the lower right corner. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Erfurt issued its own emergency currency — Notgeld — during the hyperinflation of 1923 because the Reichsbank simply could not print and distribute money fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. By the time this five-million-mark note entered circulation, that denomination was worth less each afternoon than it had been that morning. Municipal authorities across Germany were effectively left to improvise their own monetary supply.
Arthur Kirchner's involvement through AK Kunstanstalt gives this note a locally designed character unusual among the flood of hurriedly produced Notgeld of the period.