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50 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Mainz (City of Mainz) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 161 x 100 mm |
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| Obverse description | Typographed Notgeld on cream paper in black and ochre-yellow, with a pale underprint vignette of civic and allegorical motifs — including grapevines and tools — spanning the background beneath bold Fraktur blackletter inscriptions. A horizontal ochre guilloche band bisects the note, over which the denomination "Fünfzig Millionen Mark" is rendered in large Fraktur type, with the issue date "Mainz, 18. Sept. 1923" and a serial number positioned above. The lower section carries the numeral denomination "50 000 000 Mark" flanking a facsimile signature of the Oberbürgermeister, with the circular embossed seal of the City of Mainz at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Notgeld der Stadt Mainz Mainz, 18. Sept. 1923 Fünfzig Millionen Mark 50 000 000 Mark Der Oberbürgermeister Bürgermeister Wird von allen städtischen Kassen in Zahlung genommen und durch ortsübliche Bekanntmachung zur Einlösung aufgerufen. Wer Notgeld nachmacht od. verfälscht od. nachgemachtes oder verfälschtes sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter 2 Jahren bestraft. |
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| Comments |
Stadt Mainz entered the notgeld market aggressively during the hyperinflation peak of 1923, issuing increasingly large denominations as the Reichsmark collapsed in real time. A 50-million-mark note was not unusual by late summer of that year — the Reichsbank itself had authorized municipal and commercial entities to issue emergency currency simply because the central printing infrastructure could not keep pace with demand.
The embossed seal was the city's primary fraud deterrent, applied locally rather than printed. Municipalities like Mainz were effectively functioning as ad hoc central banks for their own populations, with whatever authentication tools they had on hand.