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50 000 000 Mark Deutsche Reichsbahn
| Issuer | Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Imperial Railway) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| In circulation to | 1 April 1924 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DEUTSCHE REICHSBAHN Fünfzig Millionen Mark Dieser Schein wird von allen öffentlichen Kassen wie gesetzliche Zahlmittel angenommen; er kann vom 1. Januar 1924 ab mit dreimonatiger Frist zur Einlösung aufgerufen werden. Berlin, den 18. September 1923. Der Reichsverkehrsminister |
| Reverse description | The reverse repeats the 'DEUTSCHE REICHSBAHN' title panel at top and bottom borders within the same interlaced geometric guilloche border strips as the obverse, with the two Reichsverkehrsminister eagle medallions faintly rendered at centre-left and centre-right. The Fraktur denomination lettering is discernible across the central field, printed in a markedly paler tone than the obverse. The overall impression is of a simplified, washed-out repetition of the obverse layout, consistent with the single-colour letterpress production typical of German inflation-era emergency currency. |
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| Comments |
The Deutsche Reichsbahn issued its own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923 because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet payroll. Railway workers numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and the Reichsbahn — as a state-owned enterprise with its own financial administration — was authorized to issue notgeld to cover wages before the notes lost meaningful value in transit. This was not a fringe phenomenon: several major public utilities and industrial concerns did the same thing that year.
By the time this 50,000,000 Mark denomination was necessary, the figure itself was already becoming obsolete within weeks of printing.