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5000 Mark Reichsbanknote
| Issuer | Reichsbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1922 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Mark (1873-1923) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Reichsbanknote Fünftausend Mark zahlt die Reichsbankhauptkasse in Berlin gegen diese Banknote dem Einlieferer Berlin, den 19. November 1922 Reichsbankdirektorium (Translation: The Reichsbank Main Branch in Berlin will pay the holder of this note five thousand marks. Berlin, the 19th of November 1922 The Reichsbank Directorate) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Margin watermark in the right portion of the note showing alternating light and dark chain links with the text '5000 Mark'; embedded colored fibers distributed within the paper stock of the right margin area. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
By late 1922, the Reichsbank was printing this denomination in runs of millions simply to keep pace with hyperinflation that was accelerating faster than the presses could respond. A note worth roughly $1.25 USD at issue in December 1922 had lost almost all practical purchasing power within months — by autumn 1923, 5,000 Mark wouldn't buy a postage stamp.
The security features were already an anachronism by the time ink dried. With the currency collapsing, counterfeiting was economically pointless, and the Reichsbank was effectively competing with itself on volume. The 12,175,000 print run sounds large until you consider that dozens of denominations were being produced simultaneously, and emergency Notgeld was proliferating at the municipal level to fill gaps the Reichsbank couldn't cover.
Superseded by the Rentenmark stabilization of November 1923, at a conversion rate of one trillion old Marks to one new unit.