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5 000 000 Mark Deutsche Reichsbahn
| Issuer | Deutsche Reichsbahn |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark brown on a pale guilloche underprint, the note carries the issuer's name "Deutsche Reichsbahn" in bold Gothic lettering across the top, flanked by a central winged vignette — the Reichsbahn eagle emblem with spread wings. The large denomination "Fünf Millionen Mark" is set in heavy blackletter script at centre, above a multi-line letterpress redemption text. Two circular Reichsverkehrsministerium eagle seals appear in the lower left and right corners, with the place and date of issue and the minister's manuscript signature centred below the text. A decorative foliate border frames the entire face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Deutsche Reichsbahn Fünf Millionen Mark Dieser Schein wird an allen Kassen der Deutschen Reichsbahn wie gesetzliche Zahlmittel in Zahlung genommen und bis zum 30. November 1923 eingelöst. Berlin, den 22. August 1923. Der Reichsverkehrsminister: |
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| Comments |
Deutsche Reichsbahn issued its own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923 — a direct consequence of the Reichsbahn being reorganized as a semi-autonomous state enterprise in 1920, which gave it authority to issue notgeld to pay its enormous workforce when the Reichsbank simply could not supply enough physical currency to meet payroll demand. At its peak, Germany's state railway employed over 700,000 people. Weekly wages, rapidly overtaken by daily price movements, required denominations that would have been unthinkable eighteen months earlier.
By August and September 1923, when this 5,000,000 Mark note was circulating, the figure on its face was losing purchasing power within hours of issue.