Catalog
Musterbanknote 50
| Issuer | Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Musterbanknote |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Test and specimen note issued by Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, with the company logo and full name printed in the left white margin. The right portion of the note is covered entirely by a dense, fine-line guilloche underprint in grey-brown tones, with the numeral '50' in large bold digits at the lower left of the guilloche field. The inscriptions 'MUSTERBANKNOTE', 'TEST NOTE', and 'SPECIMEN' are printed vertically at the upper left of the guilloche area, while 'MUSTERBANKNOTE' also runs vertically along the right border; an order number is printed along the far right edge. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is essentially blank, showing only faint bleed-through impressions from the obverse guilloche underprint and traces of mirror-image lettering visible at the upper right corner. |
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| Comments |
Siemens Nixdorf produced these test notes internally for calibrating and validating currency-handling machinery — ATMs, sorters, counters — rather than for any banking authority. The firm emerged from the 1990 merger of Siemens Data Systems and Nixdorf Computer AG, and their banknote processing division required standardized dummy notes with consistent physical properties to benchmark equipment performance across client installations.
"Musterbanknote" simply means specimen or sample note in German. These were never legal tender and carried no redemption value, but their paper and ink specifications had to closely replicate real currency to be useful as test media.