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500 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Giengen an der Brenz (City of Giengen a. Brenz) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 000 000 000 Marks (500 000 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Purple-violet letterpress Notgeld on plain paper, with a sawtooth border frame. Upper half carries the denomination in bold Gothic type with serial number at upper left and two manuscript signatures below the issuing text; a circular official stamp appears at centre. Lower half bears a panoramic vignette of Giengen an der Brenz with the town church towers, flanked at right by a roundel with the municipal unicorn arms. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Stadtgemeinde Giengen a. Brenz. Fünfhundert Milliarden Mark Nachahmung oder Fälschung strafbar. (Translation: Municipality of Giengen a. Brenz. Five hundred billion marks Imitation or forgery punishable by law.) |
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| Comments |
Giengen an der Brenz is a small town in Württemberg — today known primarily as the birthplace of the Steiff teddy bear. In late 1923, as German hyperinflation peaked, even minor municipalities were authorized to issue their own emergency currency, or Notgeld, simply to provide enough circulating medium for daily commerce. The Reichsbank could not print fast enough, and local printers like G. Schmid stepped in to fill the gap.
By November 1923, when the Rentenmark stabilization came into force, 500 billion Marks was worth approximately half a US dollar.