75 000 000 000 Mark

Cologne issued its own emergency currency during the hyperinflation of 1923, as the Reichsbank simply could not print fast enough to meet demand. This note carries the signature of Konrad Adenauer, then Oberbürgermeister of Cologne — a position he held from 1917 until his forced removal by the Nazis in 1933. His administrative signature appears on municipal Notgeld at denominations that would have seemed absurd even weeks before printing.

Ziegler Beckmann handled production locally, which was the practical necessity — transporting printed currency from distant suppliers introduced delays that rendered denominations obsolete before delivery.