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500 000 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Münster in Westfalen (City of Münster in Westphalia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1914-1924) |
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| Obverse description | Plain cream-toned paper note printed entirely in teal-green ink using a Gothic (Fraktur) letterpress typeface. The large denomination numeral "500" and the legend "Millionen Me[mark]" occupy the central field in bold decorative script, framed above and below by wavy guilloche-style rules. A vertical teal panel at the right edge bears the inscription "500 MILLIONEN MARK" in upright Roman capitals. The issuing authority text runs along the top, redemption conditions and place-date appear in the lower text block, and the Magistrat signature line with a red serial number is printed at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is entirely unprinted, presenting a plain cream-beige paper surface with no vignette, text, or decorative elements; the sheet shows natural texture and age-related toning consistent with the thin newsprint-grade stock used for German Notgeld issues of 1923. |
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| Comments |
One of dozens of municipal Notgeld issues produced during the hyperinflation peak of autumn 1923, when the Reichsmark was collapsing so rapidly that local governments, businesses, and even private firms were authorized — or simply forced by necessity — to print their own emergency currency. By the time denominations like this one were in circulation, the official exchange rate against the dollar was moving by hundreds of billions per day.
Municipal issues from mid-sized cities like Münster are common as a class but individually short-lived; most were redeemed or voided within weeks of issue and survive today largely because collectors were already hoarding Notgeld before the crisis even peaked.