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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Dresden (City of Dresden) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 000 Mark (500 000) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Cream-toned notgeld issued on plain paper, enclosed within a fine ornamental letterpress border of repeating geometric motifs. The denomination numeral '500000' appears in an elaborate guilloche panel at the top centre, with the value spelled out in large bold Gothic letters 'FÜNFHUNDERTTAUSEND MARK' dominating the centre field. The lower portion carries the issuing authority text, the place and date of issue, and two circular embossed blind-stamp medallions at the lower left and right corners flanking the manuscript signatures of the Oberbürgermeister and the Hauptkassendirektor, printed in red at upper right is the series designation and serial number. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Cream-toned reverse printed in dark brown on a fine guilloche underprint, with a repeating decorative border of stylised letter motifs running along all four edges. The numeral '500,000' is set in large display type at the top, below which the word 'MARK' appears in oversized open-face letters superimposed over an elaborate oval guilloche vignette. At the centre bottom sits a circular cachet of the 'Jahresschau Deutscher Arbeit Dresden'. Anti-counterfeiting legal warnings are printed in two text blocks at lower left and right, and the printer's imprint appears at the lower right margin. |
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| Comments |
Dresden's municipal administration, like hundreds of German cities in 1923, was forced into the notgeld business not by choice but by arithmetic — the Reichsbank simply could not produce currency fast enough to keep pace with hyperinflation. By the time a 500,000 Mark denomination felt necessary, that figure represented a few days' wages at best. Stengel & Co. was primarily a fine-art printing and postcard firm, a somewhat incongruous choice for emergency currency, though their Dresden location made them a practical option for the city.
The 500,000 Mark threshold was crossed in the spring of 1923; within months, the denomination would be laughably inadequate.