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50 000 000 Mark Lich
| Issuer | Hessische Bürgermeisterei Lich (Stadt Lich, Oberhessen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Official stamp |
| Protection description | Circular violet ink stamp of the Bürgermeisterei Lich applied to the reverse, with the Hessian lion coat of arms and the legend 'Volksstaat Hessen — Bürgermeisterei Lich'. |
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| Comments |
Lich is a small town in Oberhessen — population measured in the low thousands even today — and its Bürgermeisterei had no business issuing currency at any denomination, let alone fifty million marks. But in the autumn of 1923, as the Reichsmark collapsed past any rational accounting, every Gemeinde, Sparkasse, and Kaufhaus with access to a printer was doing exactly that. This is municipal notgeld at its most improvised: local authority, local paper, local rubber stamp as the sole security measure.
The official stamp is the entire guarantee. No watermark, no intaglio, nothing else standing between the issuing office and outright forgery — not that forgery made much practical sense when inflation was doubling denominations every few days.