Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Mark Sächsische Bank
| Issuer | Sächsische Bank zu Dresden |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890-1911 |
| 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 | 175 × 106 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Red and black multicolour note with an elaborate guilloche underprint bearing repeated '500' numerals across the entire field. Two intaglio oval portrait vignettes flank the centre: at left, a classical female allegory crowned with laurel, and at right, a helmeted female figure; each set within ornate cartouches inscribed 'FÜNF HUNDERT MARK' and '500 MARK' respectively. The bold Gothic script bank title 'Sächsische Bank zu Dresden' arches across the upper centre above the large red '500' underprint numeral, with the denomination 'FÜNF HUNDERT MARK' in heavy black letterpress across the middle, the place and date line below, and three manuscript signatures above the Königl. Kommissar and Direktor designations. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Predominantly red-brown and grey-green note with a dense guilloché background. The central design consists of a large oval medallion formed by interlocking guilloché bands, enclosing the bold numeral '500' in red and black, framed above and below by the curved inscriptions 'SÄCHSISCHE BANK ZU DRESDEN'. Two flanking lozenge-shaped cartouches, each inscribed 'SÄCHSISCHE BANK ZU DRESDEN' and centred on the numeral '500', are integrated into the lateral ornamental framework, while corner medallions bear upright and inverted '500' numerals in red. The printer's imprint 'Giesecke & Devrient.' appears in the lower right margin. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Sächsische Bank zu Dresden was one of four German private note-issuing banks permitted to continue operating under the Reich after 1875, when the Reichsbank was established and most competitors were pushed out. Its right to issue notes was retained under political compromise rather than economic necessity, and the bank remained subordinate to Reichsbank coverage requirements throughout this series' long print run.
Giesecke & Devrient, then still based in Leipzig, printed this denomination for what was essentially a regional prestige issue — the 500 Mark face value saw limited day-to-day use and most examples were held by commercial houses or returned to the bank quickly. The Sächsische Bank's note-issuing privilege was finally extinguished in 1924 during the post-hyperinflation banking reorganization.