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5 000 000 Mark Ostelbisches Braunkohlensyndikat
| Issuer | Ostelbisches Braunkohlenssyndikat G.m.b.H., Berlin |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 000 000 Mark (5 000 000) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in grey-brown, the reverse presents a dense, all-over guilloche underprint composed of interlocking floral and wheel ornaments arranged within multiple nested rectangular frames. At the centre, an oval cartouche formed by scalloped guilloche arches contains the denomination and issuer text in Fraktur script. The design is entirely typographic and ornamental, with no pictorial vignette. |
| Reverse lettering | 5.000.000 Mark Notgeld Ostelbisches Braunkohlenssyndikat G.m.b.H. Berlin |
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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.