5000 Mark

Düsseldorf's municipal administration became a de facto currency issuer during the hyperinflation of 1923, when Reichsbank notes simply could not be printed fast enough to keep pace with collapsing purchasing power. Notgeld at this denomination was emergency money in the most literal sense — 5,000 Mark was a meaningful sum in early 1923 but would lose practical value within weeks as inflation accelerated toward its autumn peak.

L. Schwann was a well-established Düsseldorf printing house, which gave the city a local option when speed mattered more than elaborate security features. The signature of Oberbürgermeister Köttgen lent official municipal authority to what was, legally speaking, a stopgap.