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500 000 Mark
| Issuer | Stadt Plauen (City of Plauen) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 139 × 89 mm |
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| Obverse description | Red-brown letterpress on cream paper within a wide decorative guilloche border incorporating repeating ornamental motifs and the numeral 500000 at each corner. A central oval guilloche vignette carries the denomination in bold Fraktur script, surmounted by a validity clause in Gothic type. The issuing authority Der Rat der Stadt Plauen, the date Plauen, den 1. August 1923, and two manuscript facsimile signatures above their respective title lines occupy the lower portion. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Wer Gutscheine nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft. Fünfhunderttausend Mark Nº 184518 Dieser Schein gilt nur für die Dauer der Laufzeit, die im amtlichen Bekanntmachungsblatte des Rates der Stadt Plauen bekannt gegeben ist. |
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| Comments |
Plauen was one of hundreds of German municipalities forced into emergency currency production during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsmark's collapse outpaced the Reichsbank's ability to supply adequate denominations. By mid-1923, half a million marks would not have covered a tram fare for long — notes like this were already obsolete in purchasing power within days of issue.
City-issued Notgeld at this denomination was printed locally under considerable time pressure, which is why quality control across the series is inconsistent. Paper stock and impression sharpness vary noticeably between batches.