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5 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Essen (City of Essen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 000 000 Mark (5 000 000) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in brown on a pale salmon-pink guilloche underprint, the obverse is dominated by a large bold italic denomination legend 'Fünf Millionen Mk' across the centre, above which the title 'NOTGELD DER STADT ESSEN' appears in uppercase italics. The upper right carries an oversized numeral '5000000' in a decorative serif typeface, while the upper left bears a serial letter prefix and black-printed serial number. Below the denomination, two lines of Gothic script text set out the redemption conditions, dated 19. August 1923, followed by the facsimile signature of the Oberbürgermeister. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NOTGELD DER STADT ESSEN Fünf Millionen Mk zahlt die Stadt Essen dem Einlieferer dieses Scheines 1 Monat nach Aufruf in den Essener Tageszeitungen - Essen - am 19. August 1923 Der Oberbürgermeister |
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| Comments |
Essen's municipal administration, like dozens of German cities in 1923, was forced into issuing its own emergency currency — Notgeld — because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. By the time five-million-mark notes were being issued at the local level, the denomination itself was already losing purchasing power within days of printing. The Ruhr occupation by French and Belgian forces beginning in January 1923 made the regional situation considerably worse, disrupting industrial output in the heart of Germany's coal and steel belt.
Municipal issues from this period were printed locally on whatever paper stock was available, and quality varies considerably across surviving examples.