500 000 000 000 Mark overprint on 100 000 000 Mark

Bayerische Notenbank occupied an unusual position in Weimar-era Germany — unlike the Reichsbank, it was a regional issuing institution with authority specific to Bavaria, one of several state banks permitted to issue emergency currency during the hyperinflation spiral of 1923. This note belongs to the final, dizzying phase of that crisis, when denominations became obsolete faster than new plates could be engraved. Rather than printing fresh 500 Billion Mark notes from scratch, existing 100 Billion Mark stock was overprinted — a stopgap that itself became outdated within weeks.

The Rentenmark stabilization of November 1923 rendered the entire series worthless almost immediately after issue.