500 000 000 000 Mark Bayerische Staatsbank

The Bayerische Staatsbank's half-trillion Mark note dates from the final, most vertiginous weeks of the German hyperinflation — by November 1923, the Reichsbank's own printing infrastructure could not keep pace with demand, so regional and municipal bodies across Germany were authorized to issue emergency currency (Notgeld) at astronomical denominations. Bavaria was among the most aggressive issuers at this tier. The note was printed locally in Munich, which was practical necessity rather than institutional pride: shipping delays alone could render a denomination obsolete before it arrived.

The Rentenmark stabilization came into effect on 15 November 1923, after which virtually all paper from this period was demonetized almost immediately and discarded en masse.