500 000 Mark Reichsbahndirektion

Reichsbahndirektion Cassel was one of dozens of regional railway directorates authorized to issue emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923, when the Reichsbank could not print fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. These directorate notes — Notgeld in all but name — were backed by the operational assets and payroll authority of the railway administration itself, not by any central banking reserve.

Weber & Weidemeyer printed this locally, which accounts for the embossed stamp as the primary security feature — a practical choice when sophisticated intaglio or watermarked stock was unavailable or unaffordable at speed. The two signatories, Dr. Grünberg and Hausmann, would have been senior administrative officers of the Cassel directorate.