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500 Mark
| Issuer | Der Rat der Stadt Zwickau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Mark |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Green letterpress Gutschein (emergency note) on light paper, framed by an intricate guilloche border with the denomination numeral '500' at each corner. The centre field carries the denomination in large Fraktur script 'Fünfhundert Mark' over a pale guilloche underprint rosette. Above, a two-line validity clause names the Stadt und Amtshauptmannschaft Zwickau with an expiry date of 30 November 1922; below, a payment clause references the Zwickauer Stadtbank, Aktiengesellschaft. The issue date 'Zwickau, am 15. September 1922' and issuing authority 'Der Rat der Stadt Zwickau' appear beneath, accompanied by two manuscript signatures above the printed titles 'Oberbürgermeister' and 'Stadtkassendirektor'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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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. 500 500 |
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| Comments |
Zwickau's municipal council entered the notgeld market aggressively in 1922, issuing high-denomination paper as the Reichsmark's purchasing power collapsed faster than the Reichsdruckerei could respond. Local authorities across Saxony were effectively forced into emergency currency production, and the Stadt Zwickau notes were printed locally — an arrangement that kept costs down but introduced inconsistencies in ink saturation and plate registration that vary noticeably across surviving examples.
The 500 Mark figure, enormous by 1921 standards, was already borderline inadequate by the time these reached circulation.