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50 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Passau (City of Passau) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Typeset Notgeld voucher (Gutschein) with a light teal guilloche underprint filling the central field, enclosed within a bold dashed-rule border. The denomination '50.000.000.000.- Mt.' appears in black Gothic type at upper right, with a red serial number and asterisk at upper left, while the value in words 'Fünfzig Milliarden Mark' is set in large blackletter script across the centre. A red letterpress impression of the Passau civic arms occupies the left stub alongside a vertical teal band bearing the numeral '50' and the word 'Milliarden', with two facsimile manuscript signatures of the Rechtsrat and Stadtkämmerer at lower centre above the printer's imprint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, presenting the natural cream-beige paper stock with faint show-through of the obverse frame and text visible in mirror image. A red circular stamp impression, likely a post-issue cancellation or control mark, appears toward the right side. |
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| Comments |
One of thousands of Notgeld issues produced by German municipalities during the hyperinflationary collapse of 1923, this fifty-billion-mark note from Passau was printed locally by Ablassmayer & Penninger — a practical necessity when denominations were escalating faster than centralized printing could supply. By the time notes at this level were being circulated, the Reichsmark had lost virtually all meaning; workers were being paid twice daily so wages could be spent before the afternoon exchange rate made them worthless.
The Rentenmark reform of November 1923 rendered the entire Notgeld series obsolete almost overnight.