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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadtkasse Sonneberg (City Treasury of Sonneberg, Thuringia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 138 x 100 mm |
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| Obverse description | Ochre-toned notgeld on a dense rosette guilloche underprint covering the entire field, with a Thuringian lion vignette at upper left. The denomination 500 000 in large bold numerals dominates the centre, above the spelled-out value in letterpress. Series letter and serial number appear at upper left and right respectively, with four manuscript signatures of municipal officials at foot, dated 15 August 1923. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain unprinted reverse on off-white paper, showing only the texture and fold marks of the note's circulation, with no vignettes, text, or ornamental elements present. |
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| Comments |
Sonneberg issued this 500,000 Mark note during the summer of 1923, when Reichsbank currency was depreciating faster than it could be printed and distributed. Municipal treasuries across Thuringia were forced to produce their own emergency money — Notgeld — simply to meet payroll and local commercial demand. Sonneberg, a town whose economy ran heavily on toy manufacturing and glass exports, had no shortage of practical motivation to keep workers paid in something exchangeable.
Locally printed Notgeld at this denomination is far more perishable than its city-printed Serienscheine predecessors — issued out of necessity rather than collector appeal, it circulated hard and was rarely saved.