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 Reichsbahn in Bayern
| Issuer | Reichsverkehrsministerium, Zweigstelle Bayern |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 000 000 000 Mark (500 000 000 000) |
| 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 | The obverse is dominated by a large ornate letterpress denomination numeral '500' at the top centre, rendered in an elaborate Gothic-style typeface with decorative internal detailing. Immediately below, the words 'MILLIARDEN MARK' are set in bold serif letters across the full width of the note, all against a fine green and pink guilloche underprint. A text block in German Gothic script occupies the lower central field, stating the redemption conditions and the issuing authority, followed by the place and date 'München, am 26. Oktober 1923' and a manuscript signature. A right-hand coupon panel, separated by a vertical rule, carries the Gutschein heading with an anti-counterfeiting warning in small text, the denomination spelled out as 'Fünfhundert Milliarden' in Gothic blackletter, and a serial number at its foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 500 MILLIARDEN MARK zahlen die Reichsbahnkassen gegen Einlieferung dieses Gutscheins. Vom 1. Januar 1924 ab kann dieser Gutschein zum Einzug aufgerufen und unter Umtausch gegen andere gesetzliche Zahlungsmittel eingezogen werden. München, am 26. Oktober 1923. REICHSVERKEHRSMINISTERIUM, ZWEIGSTELLE BAYERN. Gutschein Wer Gutscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter 2 Jahren bestraft. Fünfhundert Milliarden |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
This note was issued by the Bavarian branch of the Reich Transport Ministry — the Reichsverkehrsministerium — not by the Reichsbank or any conventional monetary authority. During the hyperinflationary collapse of late 1923, transport ministries, municipalities, factories, and utilities across Germany were legally permitted to issue their own emergency currency (Notgeld) to meet payroll when the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with depreciation.
The Reichsbahn connection is operationally significant: railway wages had to be paid weekly, then daily, and denominations escalated so rapidly that notes became worthless before workers could spend them. Five hundred billion marks was briefly a bus fare.