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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtgemeinde Pirmasens (City of Pirmasens) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 000 Mark (500 000) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Stadtgemeinde Pirmasens GUTSCHEIN über Fünfhunderttausend Mark Pirmasens, den 1. August 1923. Bürgermeisteramt Pirmasens : REIHE E No |
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| Reverse lettering | Einlösung bis 1. Oktober 1923 bei der Stadtkasse Pirmasens MARK 500000 MARK Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht, oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter 2 Jahren bestraft |
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| Comments |
Pirmasens was Germany's shoe manufacturing capital, and by mid-1923 the city's municipal government — like hundreds of German towns — was authorized to issue notgeld to cover the catastrophic shortfall in Reichsbank currency supply. This 500,000 Mark denomination tells you exactly where inflation stood at the moment of printing: a figure that would have seemed absurd in 1921 was barely sufficient for basic transactions within months of issue.
Municipal notgeld from this phase — sometimes called "inflationsgeld" to distinguish it from the earlier small-change notgeld of 1918–1922 — was typically valid only locally and for short periods, often weeks. Pirmasens examples were redeemable through the city treasury.