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 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Trier (City of Trier) |
|---|---|
| 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 | STADT TRIER 500 Millionen Mark TRIER DEN 20 OKTOBER 1923 UMLAUFFAHIG IM GANZEN REGIERUNGSBEZIRK TRIER GULTIG BIS ZUM 1. APRIL 1924 |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in green and carries a large central circular vignette reproducing the medieval seal of the City of Trier, showing Christ enthroned in majesty flanked by two haloed saints, with the Latin inscription 'DOMINUS BENEDICAT ET VRBEM SANCTA REVERIS TREVERICAM PLEBEM PETRUS EUCHARIS' around the circumference. The words 'STADT' and 'TRIER' are set in bold capitals to the left and right of the central seal respectively, while the border is composed of flowing scroll and wave ornaments. The printer's imprint 'TRIERER DRUCKEREI GESELLSCHAFT' appears in small type along the lower margin. |
| 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 |
Trier issued its own emergency currency — Notgeld — because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation in 1923. By the time notes of this denomination were reaching circulation in late 1923, the German mark was collapsing so rapidly that the ink was barely dry before the face value became economically trivial. Municipal authorities across Germany were effectively operating as de facto currency issuers out of administrative necessity, not legal ambition.
The Trierer Druckerei Gesellschaft was a local commercial printer, not a security press. That the city had to rely on it speaks directly to the breakdown of normal monetary infrastructure that autumn.