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5 000 000 Mark Farbwerke
| Issuer | Farbwerke vorm. Meister Lucius & Brüning, Hoechst am Main |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | The face of this Notgeld gutschein is set on a lilac-grey guilloche underprint composed of repeating oval medallion patterns, enclosed within a double-ruled rectangular border. The denomination "5 Millionen Mark" is printed in bold black letterpress at the top, with the numeral equivalent "(5000000 Mark)" beneath it. The central text block carries the redemption conditions and place-date line "HOECHST am Main, den 13. August 1923", above the issuer's name "Farbwerke vorm. Meister Lucius & Brüning" in bold type; a red stamp vignette of an eagle appears in the centre field, and a red series designation "REIHE U" is printed vertically along the right margin, with the serial number printed vertically along the left margin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in dark navy blue on a plain grey-beige paper ground covered with an all-over repeating guilloche underprint of small oval motifs. The denomination numeral "5" flanks the word "MILLIONEN" at centre in large bold serif type, forming a balanced horizontal composition. The legend "FÜNF MILLIONEN" is repeated in all four corners of the borderless field, providing additional denomination reinforcement with no further pictorial elements. |
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| Comments |
Farbwerke vorm. Meister Lucius & Brüning — the chemical giant that would eventually become part of Hoechst AG — was one of hundreds of German industrial firms forced to issue their own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923. The Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough. At its worst, firms were paying wages daily, sometimes twice daily, in notes they had printed themselves.
Notgeld issued by private industrial concerns carries a legal curiosity: it was technically an advance on wages, not currency, which allowed companies to sidestep certain monetary regulations while their workers spent the notes locally before the value evaporated by afternoon.