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5 000 000 Mark Ostelbisches Braunkohlensyndikat
| Issuer | Ostelbisches Braunkohlenssyndikat G.m.b.H., Berlin |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed notgeld in dark brown and red on cream paper, enclosed within an interlaced guilloche border. Two crossed mining hammers appear as vignettes at upper left and right, flanking the header inscription; a vertical guilloche band occupies the right margin. The large denomination numeral '5.000.000' is overprinted in red across the centre, partially overlaid by the payment obligation text in Fraktur script dated Berlin NW7, August 1923, with the issuer's name and two manuscript signatures below, and a series letter 'K' at lower left. |
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| Obverse lettering | Notgeld für den ostelbischen Braunkohlenberbbau FÜNF MILLIONEN MARK Das Ostelbische Braunkohlenssyndikat G.m.b.H., Berlin, zahlt gegen diesen Notgeldschein binnen einem Monat nach Aufruf durch öffentliche Bekanntmachung diesen Betrag in Reichspapiergeld. Berlin NW7, im August 1923 Braunkohllenhaus Ostelbisches Braunkohlensyndikat G.m.b.H. Genehmigt durch Verfügung des Reichsfinanzministers und des Handelsministers |
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| Comments |
The Ostelbisches Braunkohlensyndikat — the brown coal syndicate operating in the lignite fields east of the Elbe — issued emergency currency during the hyperinflationary peak of 1923 when the Reichsbank could not supply denominations fast enough to meet payroll demands. Industrial concerns across Germany were legally permitted to issue notgeld as wage money, and lignite mining operations, running continuous shifts, had particularly urgent need. Five million marks sounds extraordinary; by late 1923 it barely covered a loaf of bread.
Berlin-printed industrial notgeld of this type was typically redeemed within weeks of issue and pulped, making survivors disproportionately scarce relative to original print runs.