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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Bamberg (City of Bamberg) |
|---|---|
| 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 |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Gutschein der Stadt Bamberg 500 000 Fünfhunderttausend Mark Bamberg, im August 1923. Stadtrat: Oberbürgerm. Geheimer Rat. Dieser Gutschein wird in Bamberg bei allen Stadt= und Staatskassen angenommen und hat Gültigkeit bis 30. November 1923. Mit dem 31. Mai 1924 erlischt jeder Anspruch aus diesem Gutschein. GOTT UNSER HORT TAT UNSER WORT (Translation: City of Bamberg Voucher 500 000 Five Hundred Thousand Marks Bamberg, in August 1923. City Council: Mayor, Privy Councillor. This voucher shall be accepted in Bamberg at all city and state treasuries and is valid until 30 November 1923. All claims against this voucher expire as of 31 May 1924. God our refuge, deed our word.) |
| Reverse description | Black print on plain paper centres a vignette of Bamberg Cathedral, flanked on either side by vertical banners each bearing the note value in figures. Below the cathedral vignette, a rhymed German verse in letterpress laments the hardships of hyperinflation and invokes the intercession of the city's patron saints, Heinrich and Kunigunde. |
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| Comments |
Bamberg's municipal administration, like hundreds of German cities in 1923, was forced into emergency currency production as hyperinflation outpaced the Reichsbank's ability to supply usable denominations. By mid-1923, a 500,000 Mark note represented roughly the cost of a loaf of bread — briefly, and not for long. These Notgeld issues were legal under emergency ordinances but carried no federal guarantee, and their acceptance often depended entirely on local trust in the issuing municipality.
Bamberg printed its own issues in-house, which accounts for the relatively modest production quality seen across the series.