50 Mark - Westfalen Annette v. Droste-Hülshoff

The Province of Westphalia was one of dozens of German regional authorities that began issuing notgeld — emergency money — as the Reichsmark collapsed in 1923. This particular piece honors Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, the 19th-century poet born near Münster, whose connection to Westphalia made her a natural choice for a regional issue. The aluminum composition was itself a consequence of the crisis: metal values were outpacing face values so rapidly that traditional coinage metals had become economically absurd.

By late 1923, 50 Mark was essentially worthless before the ink dried.