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50 000 000 000 Mark Reichsbahndirektion
| Issuer | Reichsbahndirektion Altona |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| In circulation to | 30 November 1923 |
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| Obverse description | Printed entirely in red on cream paper, the obverse bears the bold Gothic-script denomination '50 Milliarden' as a large central vignette, flanked on the left margin by a vertical panel with star-border ornament and the repeated legends '50 MILLIARDEN' and 'FÜNFZIG MILLIARDEN'. The heading 'REICHSBAHNDIREKTION ALTONA' and 'GUTSCHEIN ÜBER MARK' appear in uppercase letterpress above the denomination, with a validity text in small type reading 'Dieser Gutschein wird bis zum 30. Nov. 1923 von allen Eisenbahnkassen des Reichsbahndirektionsbezirks in Zahlung genommen oder im Überweisungswege vergütet · Altona, 23. Oktober 1923' and the series designation 'SERIE M'. Three manuscript signatures appear below, above the repeated issuer name, with the printer's imprint 'Chr. Adolff, Altona-Ottensen' at lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is unprinted, showing plain cream paper with show-through impressions from the obverse text and partial circular cancellation stamps visible through the paper stock. The surface exhibits natural aging and fold lines consistent with circulation. |
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| Comments |
The Reichsbahndirektion Altona was one of the regional directorates of the German state railway administration, and like many semi-governmental bodies during the hyperinflation of autumn 1923, it was authorized to issue emergency currency — Notgeld — to pay its own workers when the Reichsbank could not supply sufficient physical notes fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. By the time denominations reached fifty billion Mark, wages were being calculated and paid on a daily or even hourly basis to prevent them losing value before workers could spend them.
Chr. Adolff was a local Altona printer, not a specialist banknote house. The limitations of that show in surviving examples.