Catalog
500 Mark
| Issuer | Magistrat der Stadt Goslar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Mark |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bold typographic design printed in dark blue on cream paper, with a wide geometric border composed of alternating vertical rule bands and dotted-dash strips framing the central panel. The denomination numeral '500' appears in each corner within oval cartouches, while the large stylised numerals '500' dominate the centre with a sawtooth-edged outline treatment, set beneath the place-name inscription 'GOSLAR AM HARZ' in bold serif capitals and above the written denomination 'FÜNFHUNDERT MARK' flanked by decorative chequered ornaments. A faint pictorial underprint is discernible behind the central numeral. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in dark blue on pink-tinted paper with a scalloped border enclosing the note's legal text. The denomination '500' appears in the upper corners in serif numerals, with the arched heading 'FÜNFHUNDERT MARK' across the top. The body carries the redemption clause in German, the issuing authority signature line 'Der Magistrat.' with a manuscript signature, the place and date 'Goslar, 1. Oktober 1922', a serial number in the lower left, and a counterfeiting-penalty warning in small text at lower right. A ghost watermark-style underprint of the Goslar civic arms is visible at centre. The printer's imprint 'F. A. Lattmann, Goslar' appears below the border. |
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| Comments |
Goslar's municipal administration issued this note under the emergency currency provisions that proliferated across Germany during the hyperinflationary spiral of the early 1920s — the so-called Notgeld phase in which hundreds of local authorities, firms, and institutions printed their own circulating paper simply to keep commerce moving when Reichsbank notes couldn't reach fast enough or in small enough denominations. By 1922, the 500 Mark face value was already being overtaken by inflation almost as fast as the ink dried.
F. A. Lattmann was a well-established Goslar printer with deep roots in the Harz region, which made local production practical. The note never travelled far.