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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Gemeinde Tonndorf-Lohe |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Notgeld printed in purple on cream paper with guilloche border panels on left and right; central text panel bears denomination 500 000 Mark, serial number, eagle vignette, and official circular stamp of Gemeinde Tonndorf-Lohe, Kreis Stormarn. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Signature(s) | Der Gemeindevorsteher (signature illegible) |
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| Comments |
Tonndorf-Lohe was a small municipality on the eastern outskirts of Hamburg, and this 500,000 Mark note belongs to the chaotic mid-1923 wave of Notgeld when inflation was accelerating fast enough that municipal authorities were issuing emergency money weekly simply to cover payroll. By August 17th, 500,000 Mark was roughly a day-laborer's wage — a denomination that would have seemed absurd twelve months earlier and insufficient twelve weeks later.
Small Gemeinden like Tonndorf-Lohe rarely had sophisticated printing arrangements. The official stamp and handwritten or rubber-stamped serial numbers were the only anti-counterfeiting measures available, which tells you everything about how quickly these notes were produced and how briefly they were expected to circulate.