Catalog
50 Mark Reichskassenschein
| Issuer | Reichsschuldenverwaltung (Reich Debt Administration) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1882 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Finely engraved allegorical vignette in sepia intaglio print, with a winged angel seated at right holding an hourglass and a caduceus, resting beside an Ionic column. To the left, the Prussian heraldic eagle within a shield is flanked by agricultural implements including a plough and harvest produce at lower center, with sacks of goods at lower left. The central cartouche carries the denomination and issuing authority text on a scroll, framed by an ornate foliate border with the title REICHSKASSENSCHEIN along the upper edge. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is divided into two distinct zones: the left portion carries a light blue fibrous underprint bearing the serial number in red Gothic script and a red ornamental Reichsschuldenverwaltung seal with the denomination numeral 50 on either side and an imperial eagle at center. The right portion presents an intaglio-printed guilloche lattice background in brown, over which a boldly rendered decorative scroll unfurls diagonally, carrying the denomination legend in red Gothic lettering, with the large numeral 50 set above in an open typeface. |
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| Comments |
The Reichskassenschein series was a direct Treasury instrument — issued by the Reichsschuldenverwaltung rather than the Reichsbank, meaning these circulated as state obligations, not banknotes in the conventional sense. The 1882 date places this squarely in the Bismarckian fiscal consolidation period, when the newly unified German state was still building the administrative infrastructure to manage its own public debt independently of the major private and semi-public note-issuing banks that had dominated German circulation before 1871.
The Berlin printing origin is consistent across the series. Paper survivability on these is genuinely poor — the composition was not designed for extended circulation, and four decades of German monetary turbulence before the Reichsmark reform meant most examples were either worn to destruction or rendered worthless and discarded.