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5 000 000 Mark Handelsgremium
| Issuer | Handelsgremium Zwiesel |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream paper Gutschein (voucher) note in letterpress, with the denomination '5 000 000 M' set in bold Gothic numerals across the upper field alongside the serial number, below which a three-line German text in Kurrent script states the obligation of the listed firms to pay the bearer in Reichsbanknoten upon resolution of the currency shortage through the Bayerische Hypotheken- & Wechselbank, Filiale Zwiesel. The value is restated in words as 'Mark fünf Millionen' on a central band flanked by rules, the issuance place and date 'Zwiesel, den 6. August 1923' appear in script below, and the lower half carries two manuscript signatures under the respective legends 'Eingetragen: Bayerische Hypotheken- u. Wechsel-Bank Filiale Zwiesel' and 'Kontrolliert: Handelsgremium Zwiesel', separated by a circular ink stamp; a validity clause reading 'Dieser Gutschein ist bis längstens 1. Oktober 1923 zur Einlösung vorzulegen' is printed along the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein über 5 000 000 M Gegen diesen Gutschein zahlen die rückseitig verzeichneten Firmen nach Behebung des Mangels an Zahlungsmitteln durch die Bayer. Hypotheken- & Wechselbank Filiale Zwiesel Mark fünf Millionen an den Ueberbringer in Reichsbanknoten. Zwiesel, den 6. August 1923. Eingetragen: Bayerische Hypotheken- u. Wechsel-Bank Filiale Zwiesel Kontrolliert: Handelsgremium Zwiesel Dieser Gutschein ist bis längstens 1. Oktober 1923 zur Einlösung vorzulegen. |
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| Comments |
Zwiesel is a small glassmaking town in the Bavarian Forest, and the Handelsgremium — a local merchants' association — was among the hundreds of German commercial bodies forced to print their own emergency money during the hyperinflation of 1923. By August and September of that year, the Reichsbank could not produce notes fast enough to keep pace with prices doubling weekly, so municipal authorities, chambers of commerce, and trade guilds stepped in under loosely supervised federal permission.
Five million marks sounds extraordinary until you remember that by late 1923 that sum barely covered a loaf of bread. Notes of this denomination were rendered worthless within days of issue, which paradoxically preserved many — spent too fast to be worn out.