Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 000 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Duisburg (City of Duisburg) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Notgeld der Stadt Duisburg Fünfhundert Milliarden Mark zahlen gegen diesen Schein dem Einlieferer die städtische Sparkasse, die Stadthauptkasse und die Zweigstellen dieser Kassen in Duisburg Der Aufruf des Duisburger Stadtnotgeldes erfolgt unter Ungabe der Einlieferungsfrist in den Duisburger Tageszeitungen. Mit dem Ablauf der Einlösungsfrist verliert dieser Schein seine Gültigkeit Duisburg, den 25. Sept. 1923 Der Oberbürgermeister: i.D. 500 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in pale grey-blue tones and reproduces the obverse design in mirror image through show-through, with the large Gothic 'Fünfhundert Milliarden Mark' lettering visible in reverse at centre. A decorative guilloche underprint fills the field, and the Duisburg civic coat of arms appears as a central vignette in the lower portion. The red serial number is visible in reverse at the bottom centre, consistent with the note's single-sided primary printing. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
By October 1923, German municipal authorities had been forced into issuing their own emergency currency — Notgeld — for months, simply because the Reichsbank could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. Duisburg's half-trillion Mark note belongs to that final, almost absurd phase, when denominations that would have been unthinkable in 1921 were routine tender by autumn 1923.
Municipal issues like this were legally questionable but practically unavoidable. The Rentenmark reform of November 1923 rendered the entire series worthless within weeks of issue.