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50 Deutsche Mark
| Issuer | Deutsche Notenbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1955 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#20 |
| Obverse description | Printed in dark brown and ochre on a cream ground, the obverse is framed by an elaborate guilloche border enclosing the central field, where the ornamental inscription 'FÜNFZIG DEUTSCHE MARK' is set in decorative letterpress script at left-centre and a large lathe-work rosette carries the intaglio numeral '50' to the right. A cartouche at the top centre bears 'BANKNOTE', with the issuing authority text and place-date 'BERLIN 1955' in the lower centre, while a secondary guilloche medallion with the numeral '50' is positioned at the lower left outside the principal border. The two-letter prefix serial number is rendered in red. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Executed entirely in deep red on a pale yellow-green guilloche underprint, the reverse centres on an intricate lathe-work rosette above which 'FÜNFZIG DEUTSCHE MARK' is rendered in ornate relief script, with 'BANKNOTE' repeated in a cartouche at the top centre and the numeral '50' in guilloche medallions at each corner. A three-line anti-counterfeiting warning legend runs along the lower margin. A watermark numeral '50' is visible in the unprinted paper tab at the right edge. |
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| Comments |
The Deutsche Notenbank was the central bank of the German Democratic Republic, and this 1955 50-Mark note was issued into an economy operating under rigid Soviet-aligned monetary controls — not to be confused with the West German Deutsche Bundesbank series of the same period. The two German states ran parallel currency systems with near-identical names and denominations, a situation that created persistent confusion and enabled ongoing black-market arbitrage across the inner-German border.
Printed by the Staatsdruckerei Berlin, the GDR's state printing works, the series relied on a watermark as its primary security feature — modest by Western standards of the time. The 1957 currency reform would eventually pull this denomination from circulation.