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500 000 000 Mark Homberg am Niederrhein
| Issuer | Stadt Homberg (Niederrhein) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 000 000 Marks (500 000 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in brown on white paper, the obverse is laid out in a typographic letterpress style with ornamental geometric border panels on the left, right, and corners incorporating zigzag and cross motifs. The denomination "500 Millionen MARK" is set in large Gothic blackletter type at the centre, flanked by circular counter panels bearing the numeral "500" on each side, with a vertical panel on the right reading "500 Millionen 500". Below the denomination, a text block in Kurrent script states the redemption conditions payable at all municipal cashiers of Homberg, followed by the issuance date "HOMBERG (NIEDERRHEIN), DEN 20. SEPTEMBER 1923" in Roman type, the mayoral authorisation line "Der Bürgermeister. i.V." with a manuscript countersignature, and a serial number prefixed by "No" at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | HOMBERG NIEDERRHEIN 500 MILLIONEN M·A·R·K |
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| Comments |
Homberg am Niederrhein — now absorbed into Duisburg — issued this 500-million-mark note at the absolute peak of the Weimar hyperinflation, when denominations that would have been unthinkable two years earlier became routine municipal necessity. German cities, towns, and even private firms were authorized to issue their own emergency currency — Notgeld — to fill a void the Reichsbank simply could not cover with physical notes fast enough.
By late 1923, the printing presses had so thoroughly destroyed the mark's purchasing power that a 500-million-mark note represented genuine small-change territory. The Rentenmark reform of November 1923 rendered the entire series worthless within weeks of issue.