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500 000 Mark Bochumer Verein für Bergbau und Gußstahlfabrikation
| Issuer | Bochumer Verein für Bergbau und Gußstahlfabrikation |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Value | 500 000 Mark (500 000) |
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| Obverse description | Brown letterpress Notgeld voucher (Gutschein) with an ornate geometric border composed of repeated industrial and heraldic motifs — including anchors, cogwheels, lions, and stylized trefoil medallions — arranged in a continuous frame. The central text panel states the denomination in Fraktur script as 'Fünfhunderttausend Mark', below which a clause specifies validity until 1 October 1923 and redemption at the issuer's main cashier in Bochum or at local branch banks. A large green overprinted denomination '500000' is applied diagonally across the central field as a control underprint, and the same numeral appears in green letterpress at top and bottom margins. The note is dated 'Bochum, den 1. August 1923' and bears two manuscript signatures flanking a serial number with prefix 'B'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Dieser Gutschein ist geldwertig und deshalb sorgfältig wie bares Geld zu behandeln. Für allen Schaden, der aus dem Verlust dieses Scheines entsteht, ist sein Inhaber selbst verantwortlich. Nach Ablauf der umseitig benannten Frist verliert dieser Schein seine Gültigkeit und wird nicht mehr eingelöst. Bochumer Verein für Bergbau und Gußstahlfabrikation. |
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| Comments |
Bochumer Verein für Bergbau und Gußstahlfabrikation — one of the Ruhr's dominant steel and mining conglomerates — issued emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923 under the same legal framework that allowed thousands of German industrial firms, municipalities, and savings banks to print their own Notgeld. By mid-1923, the Reichsbank simply could not supply denominations fast enough to meet payroll demands, and large employers became de facto monetary authorities for their own workforces.
The 500,000 Mark face value, astronomical by any prewar measure, was already being overtaken by inflation within weeks of printing.