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500 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Frankfurt am Main (City of Frankfurt am Main) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Orange-ochre letterpress Notgeld note with a left panel containing an oval vignette of a bearded male portrait — likely a notable Frankfurt historical figure — set within a laurel wreath, with a serial number below. The main field carries an ornate guilloche underprint with scrollwork, the denomination spelled out in bold Gothic script as 'Fünfhundert Millionen Mark', and a smaller text block stating redemption terms at the Stadthauptkasse, dated Frankfurt a. M., 18. Oktober 1923, with a facsimile magistrate's signature. The printer's imprint 'Gebrüder Fey, Frankfurt a. M.' appears at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STADT FRANKFURT AM MAIN Gutschein über Fünfhundert Millionen Mark 500.000.000 Die Einlösung dieses Scheines erfolgt bei der Stadthauptkasse. Der Zeitpunkt, mit dem die Gültigkeit abläuft, wird öffentlich bekannt gemacht. Frankfurt a. M., 18. Oktober 1923. Der Magistrat: Gebrüder Fey, Frankfurt a. M. |
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| Comments |
Frankfurt's municipal administration became a de facto currency issuer during the hyperinflation of 1923, alongside hundreds of other German cities and districts printing notgeld simply to meet payroll. By the time denominations had reached nine zeros, the Reichsbank's supply chains were overwhelmed and local printers like Gebrüder Fey were absorbing the overflow — not as licensed note printers in any traditional sense, but as job printers pressed into monetary service.
The 500,000,000 Mark figure, staggering as it reads, was already obsolescent within weeks of printing. Frankfurt's municipal series from this period is reasonably well documented but individual print runs were rarely recorded with precision.