50 Deutsche Mark

The Bank Deutscher Länder was itself a provisional institution — established in March 1948 under Allied authority as a temporary central bank for the Western occupation zones before the Federal Republic existed. This 50 Mark note arrived with the currency reform of June 1948, the Währungsreform that replaced the discredited Reichsmark at a brutal 10:1 conversion rate and effectively ended the postwar black market economy overnight.

American Bank Note Company took on the contract because no German printing facility was deemed secure or politically acceptable to the Allies at that moment. The notes were shipped to Germany in secrecy ahead of the June 20 announcement.