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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Zwickau (City of Zwickau) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Mark 500000 Mark GUTSCHEIN Gültig im Bezirke der Stadt und Amtshauptmannschaft Zwickau bis 15. August 1923 Fünfhunderttausend Mark zahlen die Kassen der Stadt Zwickau durch die Zwickauer Stadtbank Aktiengesellschaft in Zwickau gegen Rückgabe dieses Gutscheines DER RAT DER STADT ZWICKAU ZWICKAU I. SA. 30. JULI 1923 Oberbürgermeister Stadtkassendirektor |
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| Reverse lettering | 500000 Mark Wer Gutscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft Nr. |
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| Comments |
Zwickau's 500,000 Mark note belongs to the vast landscape of German municipal emergency currency — no, strike that. It belongs to the Hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark was collapsing so rapidly that city governments, savings banks, and private firms were authorized to print their own notgeld simply to provide enough physical currency for daily transactions. By August 1923, 500,000 marks would barely cover a loaf of bread; by November, the denomination was already obsolete.
Local printing in Zwickau kept turnaround fast. Speed mattered more than artistry at this point in the crisis.