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| Issuer | Farbwerke vorm. Meister Lucius & Brüning, Hoechst am Main |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 000 000 Marks (5 000 000) |
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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. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5 Millionen Mark (5000000 Mark) zahlen wir gegen diesen Gutschein dem Inhaber an unserer Kasse. Die Einlösung dieses Scheines erfolgt von einem durch die Tageszeitungen bekannt zu gebenden Tage ab. Der Zeitpunkt, an dem dieser Schein seine Gültigkeit verliert, wird in gleicher Weise bekannt gemacht. HOECHST am Main, den 13. August 1923. Farbwerke vorm. Meister Lucius & Brüning REIHE U |
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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.