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500 000 Mark Reichsbanknote
| Issuer | Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| 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 |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Black intaglio print with dark green design elements over a wavy-line guilloche underprint in green and grey, laid over a vertical-line underprint in lilac. A portrait vignette of a man wearing a Jacobite cap appears at both left and right. The serial number is printed in red at lower left and lower right. |
|---|---|
| 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 | Watermark |
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| Comments |
This is one of the mid-tier denominations from the hyperinflation spiral of 1923, a year in which the Reichsbank was forced to issue notes in quantities and face values that rapidly became absurd. By the time P#88 entered circulation, 500,000 Mark was already losing purchasing power faster than the ink dried — the note was effectively obsolete within weeks of issue.
The 12.175 million print run sounds large until you consider that Germany was producing notes by the trainload in 1923. The Reichsbank eventually contracted over thirty private printing firms to keep pace with demand, since its own presses could not.