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500 000 Mark Nordmark-Lotterie overprint
| Issuer | Stadt Husum (City of Husum) |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Colour vignette by Max Böttcher of a woman in traditional Frisian dress standing on a dike overlooking the Husum harbour with a sailing vessel; denomination and validity text appear over the scene with two official stamps. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Official stamps |
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| Comments |
Husum's 500,000 Mark notgeld belongs to the chaotic summer of 1923, when Reichsbank denominations were becoming obsolete faster than they could be printed and municipal authorities across Germany were authorizing their own emergency issues to keep local commerce moving. This particular note took a shortcut: rather than commissioning entirely new printing, the city applied an overprint to existing Nordmark-Lotterie stock — a lottery ticket repurposed as currency, which tells you something about the desperation of the moment.
The three-signature authentication (Fuchs, Hlesch, and J.J. Roseuler) and official stamps were the only mechanisms standing between this and outright forgery. Max Böttcher's design credit almost certainly predates the monetary use entirely.