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50 Mark Reichsbanknote
| Issuer | Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#68 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 50 Reichsbanknote Fünfzig Mark zahlt die Reichsbankhauptkasse in Berlin gegen diese Banknote dem Einlieferer. Berlin, den 23. Juli 1920. Reichsbankdirektorium |
| Reverse description | Printed in green on white paper, the reverse is divided into three vertical panels within a guilloche lattice border: the left panel carries an intaglio bust of a farmer in a wide-brimmed hat holding a scythe before a harvested field, and the right panel mirrors this with a bare-armed blacksmith holding a hammer against an industrial smokestack background. The central panel bears "Reichsbanknote" at top, a large guilloche medallion with the denomination "50 Mark" in Gothic script at centre, the serial number at top and bottom, and the anti-counterfeiting warning text beneath the medallion. Pale underprint letters "RBD" are visible across the lower central area. |
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| Comments |
The Reichsbank issued this note in the immediate aftermath of Germany's defeat and the punishing terms of Versailles, when the money supply was expanding rapidly to cover war debts and reparations obligations. By 1920 the Reichsbank had already abandoned any serious pretense of gold convertibility, and notes like this one were entering circulation faster than public confidence could absorb them. Within two years, the denomination would be trivial.
Reichsdruckerei produced enormous quantities of the 1920 series, which works against survival of genuinely uncirculated examples — not because the paper was fragile, but because these notes passed through so many hands so quickly during the early inflation years.