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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Karlsruhe, City of |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Landeshauptstadt Karlsruhe Gutschein über Fünf Hundert-Tausend Mark 500 000 Der Gothische Thurm Das Nassauische Palais Das Durlacher Thor Das Ettlinger Thor Nur mit Trockenstempel Gültig |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Dry seal (Trockenstempel) |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Karlsruhe's municipal administration issued this 500,000 Mark note during the hyperinflationary summer of 1923, when German cities, counties, and private firms were legally authorized — and practically compelled — to print their own emergency currency (Notgeld) to fill the void left by the Reichsbank's inability to supply denominations fast enough for daily transactions. Half a million marks, a staggering figure by any prewar standard, was by mid-1923 roughly equivalent to a loaf of bread.
The dry seal impressed into the paper served as the primary authentication device — a practical choice when speed of issue mattered more than sophisticated security printing. Designer A. Kusche is credited on the note, an unusual acknowledgment for municipal emergency currency of this type.