5 000 000 Mark Bezirkssparkasse

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.