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500 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Württembergische Notenbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by the large denomination inscription "Fünfhundert Milliarden" in ornate Gothic letterpress script across the centre, with "Mark" set within a decorative guilloche cartouche below. The issuer name "Württembergische Notenbank" appears along all four margins as a repeated border legend, with an anti-counterfeiting warning in small text above the central vignette. The date "Stuttgart, 20. November 1923" and two manuscript signatures appear at the lower centre, with role designations "Für den Aufsichtsrat" and "Der Vorstand" flanking them. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Fünfhundert Milliarden 500,000,000,000 Fünfhundert Milliarden Fünfhundert Milliarden Mark bezahlt die Württembergische Notenbank jedem Inhaber dieses Scheines in Reichswährung Fünfhundert Milliarden Vom 30. November 1923 ab kann diese Banknote aufgerufen und unter Umtausch gegen andere gesetzliche Zahlungsmittel eingezogen werden. Fünfhundert Milliarden (Translation: Five hundred billion 500,000,000,000 Five hundred billion The Württemberg Central Bank will pay five hundred billion marks to each holder of this note in Reich currency. Five hundred billion From November 30, 1923, this banknote will be recalled and exchanged for other legal tender. Five hundred billion) |
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| Comments |
By the time the Württembergische Notenbank issued this 500 billion Mark note in late 1923, the denomination itself was nearly obsolete before the ink dried. German hyperinflation was advancing faster than any printer could respond — the Reichsbank had authorized regional issuing banks like this one to produce emergency Notgeld precisely because the central presses in Berlin could not keep pace with demand for higher and higher face values.
The Württembergische Notenbank was one of four private note-issuing banks still operating alongside the Reichsbank under pre-war concessions. Its Stuttgart-issued paper circulated regionally but was legally valid across the Reich during the crisis period. The entire series was rendered worthless within weeks by the Rentenmark stabilization of November 1923.