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500 Millionen Mark - Ruhr und Rhein
| Issuer | German notgeld |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse depicts the mythological figure of Prometheus, shown as a muscular nude male form dominating the field, his body contorted in agony as a vulture attacks him. The figure is rendered in high relief with expressionistic vigor, consistent with the allegorical artistic style prevalent in German commemorative and emergency coinage of the Weimar period. Prometheus is shown bound, with the eagle or vulture visible clawing at his torso, symbolizing suffering and endurance — a direct allegorical reference to the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr and Rhineland. The field is otherwise plain, with no additional legend or inscription on this side. |
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| Mintage | 1923 |
| Additional information |
By mid-1923, Germany's hyperinflation had so outpaced paper note production that municipalities and regional bodies issued their own emergency coinage — Notgeld — simply to keep commerce moving. This piece, denominated at 500 million Mark, was issued to serve the Rhineland and Ruhr, a region already under French and Belgian military occupation since January 1923. The occupation itself had triggered the final, catastrophic acceleration of inflation: Berlin's policy of "passive resistance" meant the government paid striking workers in newly printed marks, destroying what remained of the currency's value.
A denomination of 500 million marks would have bought roughly a loaf of bread — briefly.