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500 Mark Reichsbanknote
| Issuer | Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| In circulation to | 1923 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Reichsbanknote 500 Fünfhundert Mark 500 Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Ver- kehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft (Translation: Five Hundred Marks Whosoever copies or falsifies banknotes or acquires and puts copied or falsified banknotes into circulation will be punished with no less than two years of prison.) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The 500 Mark note of 1922 belongs to the early phase of Weimar hyperinflation, when the Reichsbank was still issuing notes in denominations that would seem laughably small within months. By late 1923, a single US dollar was worth over four trillion marks, and 500 Mark notes had long since ceased to have any practical use. Enormous print runs like this one were routine — the presses simply could not keep pace with the collapsing purchasing power.
The watermark security feature was retained through this period largely out of institutional habit; it offered no real protection against a crisis driven by monetary policy rather than forgery.