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5 000 000 Mark Bezirkssparkasse
| Issuer | Bezirkssparkasse Grafenau |
|---|---|
| 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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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper note of emergency issue (Notgeld) type, printed in black Gothic (Fraktur) typeface within a decorative rectangular border composed of dotted rules and ornamental corner pieces with a fine guilloche band underprint in green. The denomination 'Fünf Millionen Mark' is set in large bold blackletter script at centre, with the issuer's name and payment clause in smaller Fraktur text above and below. The upper left carries the handwritten serial number prefixed 'Nr.' and the value 'M. 5.000.000.—' appears at upper right; a handwritten authorization signature in violet ink and the issuer's name appear at lower right, with a small redemption clause at lower left and the printer's imprint 'Otto Morsat, Grafenau' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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.