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500 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Elberfeld (City of Elberfeld) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Olive-brown letterpress note divided into a main panel and a right-hand stub, both framed by a decorative foliate border. The main panel carries the Gothic-script heading 'Stadt Elberfeld' and '500 Millionen Mark' at the top, below which the large Fraktur denomination 'Fünfhundert Millionen Mark' dominates the centre, set over a lightly printed municipal arms underprint. The stub at right bears the civic shield of Elberfeld with a rampant lion, the inscription 'Stadt Elberfeld', and the numeral '500.000.000'; the date 'den 20. September 1923', serial prefix and suffix letters, and the Oberbürgermeister's manuscript signature appear in the lower portion of the main panel, with the printer's imprint 'Sam. Lucas Elberfeld' at the foot. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadt Elberfeld 500 Millionen Mark Notgeld Die städtischen Kassen der Stadt Elberfeld zahlen gegen diesen Notgeldschein Fünfhundert Millionen Mark Der Zeitpunkt der Einlösung wird öffentlich bekannt gemacht Elberfeld, Der Oberbürgermeister Den 20.September 1923 W 213890 LE Mark 500.000.000 Mark 500.000.000 Sam. Lucas Elberfeld |
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| Comments |
Elberfeld's 500-million-Mark notgeld dates to the absolute peak of Weimar hyperinflation — by late 1923, the Reichsbank could not produce currency fast enough, and municipal governments, utilities, and private firms across Germany were legally authorized to print emergency money. Samuel Lucas was a local Elberfeld commercial printer, not a banknote specialist; the jump to nine-figure denominations happened so quickly that many such notes were printed on whatever paper stock was available, sometimes reusing designs plates originally cut for far smaller values.
Elberfeld merged into the newly created city of Wuppertal in 1929, so the issuing authority ceased to exist entirely within six years of this note's printing.