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500 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Vohwinkel (Municipality of Vohwinkel, Prussian Rhine Province) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Plain buff paper note printed in black and red. The issuing authority heading 'Die Stadt Vohwinkel' is set in Gothic blackletter script at the top centre, followed by the payment promise text in smaller script. Two vertical decorative red lozenge-and-rule ornaments flank the left and right margins, each bearing the denomination '500 Millionen Mark' in vertical orientation. The central denomination panel '500 Millionen' is set within a rectangular black border overlaid on a red underprint numeral '500'. Below the text, the date 'Vohwinkel, 15. Oktober 1923' appears above the Bürgermeister's manuscript signature. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Preise am 15. Oktbr. 1923: ein Liter Wasser 98 Tausend, ein Pfund Salz 42 Millionen, ein Ei 75 Millionen, ein Liter Milch 152 Millionen, ein Pfund Kartoffeln 40 Millionen, ein Hering 50 Millionen, ein Pfund Brot 210 Millionen, ein Pfund Schweineschmalz 1 1/4 Milliarden, ein Paar Schuhsohlen 6 Milliarden, ein ärztl. Totenschein 600 Millionen, ein Sarg 45 Milliarden. 500 Millionen Mk. STADT VOHWINKEL DER FINANZEN TOTENTANZ |
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Vohwinkel was a small industrial town on the eastern edge of Wuppertal — then not yet formally consolidated into the larger city — and like hundreds of German municipalities in late 1923, it was forced to issue its own emergency currency simply to meet payroll. The half-billion mark denomination tells you exactly where this note sits in the hyperinflation timeline: by October and November 1923, the Reichsmark was losing value faster than notes could be printed and distributed, and local authorities were issuing new denominations within days of the last series becoming functionally worthless.
Notgeld of this period was typically produced by regional printers on short contracts, often on whatever paper stock was available — quality control was not the priority.