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500 000 000 000 Mark Lippstadt
| Issuer | Stadt Lippstadt (City of Lippstadt) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Left panel bears a letterpress vignette of Bernhard II, Noble Lord of Lippe, in medieval attire standing beneath a rounded arch with flanking columns, the city arms at his feet; serial number below. Right panel carries the denomination '500 Milliarden 500' in bold letterpress with the obligation text, date '30. Oktober 1923', two manuscript signatures for Der Magistrat, and the impressed circular city seal of Lippstadt at right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Bernhard II. Edler Herr zu Lippe 500 Milliarden 500 Gut für fünfhundert Milliarden Reichsmark. Die Stadt Lippstadt verpflichtet sich, dem Einlieferer dieses Scheines obigen Betrag zu zahlen. Vom 1. November 1923 ab kann dieser Gutschein aufgerufen und unter Umtausch gegen andere gesetzliche Zahlungsmittel eingezogen werden. Lippstadt, 30. Oktober 1923. Der Magistrat. Gültig nur mit beigedrucktem Stadtsiegel. (Translation: Bernhard II, Noble Lord of Lippe 500 billion 500 Good for five hundred billion Reichsmarks. The city of Lippstadt undertakes to pay the depositor of this note the above amount. From November 1, 1923, this voucher can be called in and exchanged for other legal tender. Lippstadt, October 30, 1923. The Magistrate. Valid only with enclosed city seal.) |
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| Comments |
By the time Lippstadt issued this 500-billion-Mark note in late 1923, the Reichsbank had long since lost control of the money supply. Municipal and private emergency issuers — the so-called Notgeldstellen — were printing at denominations that had been unimaginable twelve months earlier. Lippstadt's city administration was among hundreds of local German authorities legally authorized to issue their own Notgeld during the hyperinflationary peak, filling a practical vacuum left by banknotes that became worthless faster than they could be distributed.
The official stamp serves as the primary authentication device — a telling sign of how improvised the entire system had become. Designer A. Höke's credit suggests local production, consistent with many municipal issues of the period that bypassed professional security printers entirely out of necessity and speed.