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| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Bamberg |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 000 000 Mark (50 000 000) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is set on a warm ochre guilloche underprint with an ornate scrollwork border. A decorative banner scroll at the top carries the issuer's name in blackletter script, below which the denomination "Fünfzig Millionen Mark" is rendered in large Gothic lettering against a faint vignette of Bamberg's cathedral skyline. At centre, an oval cartouche encloses the city arms flanked by acanthus foliage, with validity and redemption text to the left, a facsimile signature under the title "Stadtrat: Oberbürgermeister, Geheim. Rat." to the right, and a red serial number at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadt-Gemeinde Bamberg Fünfzig Millionen Mark Bamberg, im Oktober 1923. Dieser Gutschein wird in Bamberg bei allen Stadt- u. Staatskassen angenommen. Gültigkeit bis 31. Januar 1924. Mit dem 31. Mai 1924 erlischt jeder Anspruch aus diesem Gutschein. Stadtrat: Oberbürgermeister, Geheim. Rat. |
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| Comments |
Bamberg's municipal administration issued this note in 1923 during the hyperinflationary peak that saw the Reichsmark rendered effectively worthless within weeks of printing. Municipal and regional authorities across Germany were legally empowered to issue their own emergency currency — Notgeld — precisely because the Reichsbank could not print fast enough to meet daily transactional demand. By the time denominations reached eight figures, notes were sometimes spent within hours of receipt to avoid further devaluation.
J. Nagengast was a local Bamberg printer, not a specialist security printer. At this stage of the crisis, that distinction barely mattered — the notes' validity depended on municipal backing, not on sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures.