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500 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Landkreis Greiz (District of Greiz) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Typeset notgeld issue printed in red and black on pale pink paper, framed by a decorative guilloche border with a dotted outer edge. The district coat of arms of Greiz — a red shield bearing white stars — appears in the upper left and upper right corners, flanking the bold letterpress heading. The denomination 'FÜNFHUNDERT MILLIARDEN MARK' is set in large block letters across the centre, with the numeral '500' in a dark cartouche at the lower centre; below the denomination text a multi-line legal clause states the conditions of redemption, the place and date 'GREIZ, AM 8. NOVEMBER 1923', and two manuscript signatures above the printed titles 'Der Vorsitzende des Kreisrates' and 'Der Thüringische Kreisdirektor', with a handwritten serial number between them. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | NOTGELD DES LANDKREISES GREIZ GENEHMIGT VOM REICHSMINISTER DER FINANZEN. FÜNFHUNDERT MILLIARDEN MARK ZAHLT DIE KREISKASSE IN GREIZ GEGEN RÜCKGABE DIESES SCHEINES. — DIE LAUFZEIT DES NOTGELDES IST EINSTWEILEN NICHT BESCHRÄNKT. DAS NOTGELD DARF BIS ZU EINEM ÖFFENTLICH BEKANNT ZU MACHENDEN AUFRUFE UMLAUFEN UND WIRD NACH DEM AUFRUFE BINNEN MONATSFRIST EINGELÖST. GREIZ, AM 8. NOVEMBER 1923. Der Vorsitzende des Kreisrates. Der Thüringische Kreisdirektor. WER NOTGELD NACHMACHT OD. VERFÄLSCHT, ODER NACHGEMACHTES ODER VERFÄLSCHTES SICH VERSCHAFFT UND IN VERKEHR BRINGT, WIRD MIT ZUCHTHAUS NICHT UNTER ZWEI JAHREN BESTRAFT. 500 |
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By November 1923, German hyperinflation had reached a point where local authorities — Landkreise, municipalities, even private firms — were printing their own emergency money simply to meet payroll. Greiz, a small industrial district in Thuringia, issued this 500-billion-Mark note as Notgeld, not because it had monetary authority in any formal sense, but because the Reichsbank could not physically supply currency fast enough to keep pace with daily price collapses.
At the peak, a note of this denomination might have bought a loaf of bread — briefly. The Rentenmark stabilization in November 1923 rendered the entire series worthless within weeks of issue.