50 000 Mark overstamp on 5 Mark district issue

Lörrach's 5 Mark Notgeld, originally issued in 1918 to relieve the wartime coin shortage, was later pressed back into service during the hyperinflation spiral by applying an official municipal overstamp raising the face value to 50,000 Mark. The revaluation almost certainly dates to mid-1923, when German municipal authorities were scrambling to keep denominations remotely useful as purchasing power collapsed week by week.

The overstamp itself — rather than a full reprint — was common among smaller cities that lacked the administrative machinery or funds to commission new emergency currency on short notice.