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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Düsseldorf (City of Düsseldorf) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark brown on a salmon and pale green guilloche underprint. The heading "STADT DUSSELDORF" runs in bold uppercase letters beneath an ornamental border of interlaced foliate and geometric motifs at the top. The central panel carries the denomination in large Gothic blackletter script reading "Fünfhunderttausend Mark", flanked by numerals "5" rendered as lathe-work rosettes on each side. Below the central vignette, a two-line text in German Gothic script gives the issuing authority's promise of payment, the place and date "Düsseldorf, den 16. Juli 1923", the signatory designation "Der Oberbürgermeister i.V.", and a manuscript signature, all enclosed within a matching ornamental lower border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse shares the same dark brown on salmon and pale green guilloche underprint as the obverse, with an identical ornamental border of foliate and geometric interlace at top and bottom. The heading "STADT DUSSELDORF" appears in the same bold uppercase lettering, while the central panel displays the large numeral "500000" in bold Gothic-style figures above the word "Mark" in blackletter script. Below the central numeral panel, series and serial number designations are printed, and a two-line inscription at the foot of the note states the authorisation by the Reichsfinanzministerium. |
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| Comments |
Düsseldorf's 500,000 Mark note dates from mid-1923, when German municipal authorities were legally empowered to issue their own emergency currency — Notgeld — because the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. By August of that year, the mark was losing value by the hour, and denominations that seemed astronomical in January were functionally worthless before autumn.
City-issued Notgeld of this period was printed locally and often on whatever paper stock was available, which accounts for the variability in paper quality and ink saturation found across surviving examples of this series.