50 000 000 000 Mark Reichsbahndirektion

The German State Railway directorates — the Reichsbahndirektionen — were authorized to issue emergency currency (Notgeld) during the hyperinflation of 1923 when the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet demand. This note from the Frankfurt directorate was denominated at 50 billion Mark, a figure that had been unimaginable even twelve months earlier. By late 1923, it barely covered a tram fare.

J. Maubach & Co. was a Frankfurt commercial printer pressed into currency production alongside dozens of other local firms during this period — the work was logistically necessary, not prestigious. The Rentenmark stabilization of November 1923 rendered the entire issue worthless within weeks of printing.