Catalog
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| Issuer | Bezirkssparkasse Grafenau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Die Bezirkssparkasse Grafenau zahlt gegen diesen Scheck den Betrag von Fünf Millionen Mark an den Ueberbringer. Grafenau, den 25. August 1923. Bezirkssparkasse Grafenau. Wir verpflichten uns zur Bareinlösung dieses Schecks nach Behebung der gegenwärtigen Zahlungsmittelknappheit. Otto Morsat, Grafenau. |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Es wird ersucht, diesen Scheck nicht zu girieren und nicht abzustempeln, sondern wie Bargeld wieder in Umlauf zu setzen! |
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| Comments |
Bezirkssparkasse Grafenau was one of hundreds of German district savings banks that issued their own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923 — Notgeld printed locally when Reichsbank notes simply could not be produced fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. By the time five-million-mark denominations were being issued at a district level in rural Bavaria, the inflation had already rendered yesterday's notes effectively worthless on arrival.
Otto Morsat was a local Grafenau printer, not a specialist currency house. That matters: production quality varied considerably between such printers, and Morsat-issued pieces occasionally show ink inconsistencies and uneven impression pressure characteristic of small commercial presses pressed into monetary service.