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5 000 000 Mark Overprinted on 500 Mark
| Issuer | Stadthauptkasse Stralsund (City of Stralsund, Prussian province of Pomerania) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 154 x 100 mm |
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| Reverse description | Elaborately engraved scene of Stralsund harbour during the Hanseatic period (circa 1400), with a large cog sailing vessel in the foreground and the city skyline with church spires behind. The baroque cartouche border incorporates seabirds, fish, and foliate scrollwork; denomination "500 Mark" appears at left and right. The city seal in copper-tone underprint is centred at the base, signed by the artist F. Rackow. |
| Reverse lettering | Stralsund Hansazeit um 1400 500 Mark SICILLVM·CIVITATIS·S·RALESSYNDIS (city seal legend) (Translation: Stralsund / Hanseatic period around 1400 / 500 marks / Seal of the city of Stralsund) |
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| Comments |
Stralsund's municipal treasury issued this note during the hyperinflationary collapse of 1923, when denominations became obsolete almost as soon as they were printed. The solution — overprinting an existing 500 Mark note with a value ten thousand times higher — was purely practical, driven by the impossibility of keeping local print runs ahead of the currency's daily devaluation.
F. Rackow was a Stralsund-based printer, meaning the overprint was applied locally rather than sourced from one of the large specialist firms handling emergency currency for bigger municipalities. That local provenance makes the physical execution uneven compared to centrally produced Notgeld of the same period.