This banknote was issued by the Reichsbankdirektion in Berlin. It measures around 12 cm * 8 cm. The banknote is a very good example for the inflation money in Germany.

Front side
The front side of the note shows the “German mint master Jörg Herz” - after a painting from G. Penz.

History of the banknote

It was planned to issue the banknote on 15. December 1922 as a 1,000 Mark bill. The devaluation of the money in the German Inflation period had advanced so far by late 1922 that 1,000 Mark didn’t buy a lot any more. Therefore the banknote has never been issued with this value.

Instead the bills were brought back to the printing houses and were over-printed with a new denomination: “Eine Milliarde Mark” – one billion Mark. It was finally brought into circulation during the hyperinflation in the summer of 1923.

Over-printing was fairly common during the German hyperinflation. Many banknotes were devalued so fast that they could only be used after the denomination was adjusted. Additionally the supply on money became so difficult that old banknotes were reused.

Please note that 1 billion (1,000,000,000) in German is called 1 Milliarde. In Germany 1 Billion, Trillion, etc. carries 3 more zeros than in the English-speaking world, i.e. 1 Billion (German) equals to 1000 billion (English). These systems are officially called long scale and short scale.

I had recently a lot of interest in the 5 Billion Mark banknote from 20. October 1923

Several people emailed me to buy this bill. Finally I was sent a copy of a text that seems to make its round especially in arabic countries. It explains, why people seemed to be willing to pay a very high price - way above catalog value - for this bill:

The text claimed that this bill was a Dutch treasury bill. Obviously the author of that text was unfamiliar with the German language in which “deutsch” means “German” and not “Dutch”.

Anyway the text continued to say that this treasury bill was issued in 1923 for a 100 years and will reach maturity 2023. It further claimed that the Dutch government is very likely to pay back the face value of this bill in 2023 in Euro - whcih would mean that the holder would get several billion Euros.

I can only imagine that someone, who wanted to sell these bills at an extremely inflated price dreamed up this story. The truth is that this banknote was issued during the German inflation and lost all its nominal value already in early 1924. Its only value today is a collectors value, which is for the best conditions and rarest versions about US$15.

This imperial 1000 Mark banknote was issued by the Reichsbankdirektion in Berlin. It measures around 18.5 cm * 11 cm. This large bill would hardly fit into any of today’s wallets. Because of its colour the banknote is also referred to as the “Brown Thousand”.

This banknote was issued with several issue dates:

• 10. April 1896
• 1. July 1898
• 10. October 1903
• 26. July 1906
• 7. February 1908
• 10. September 1909
• 21. April 1910

For the issue of 1910 versions with red seals and green seals exist. The bills with red seals show either 6 or 7 digit serial numbers. The former were issued before World War 1 and are more valuable. The latter were issued only from 1916, with inflationary tendencies on the up. These bills are the least valuable of the 1910 series.

The banknotes with the green seals were actually given out after World War I (1918-1923). Before the war the currency was convertible into Gold. The issue of the new banknotes should prevent that any of these were requested to be exchanged into gold. This was especially true for the victors of WWI, who requested their reparations. This way to circumvent possible claims was also used for the 100 Mark banknotes of the time. Again the green sealed bills come with 6 and 7 digit serial numbers. Both versions are slightly more valuable than their red sealed equivalents.

Backside of the bill

In the middle of the banknote the German eagle is depicted. The Eagle (in German “Adler”) is a very old symbol for the German state. Originally the eagle was the symbol of the Roman emperor. Charles the Great took over the eagle as his symbol, when he became emperor around 800.

The eagle remained the symbol of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. During 1433 and 1806 the “Reichsadler” as symbol of the emperor had two heads. The eagle during these times was also used by many towns and principalities in their arms.

The eagle is common in many cultures as a symbol for power that is given by god. Even in these days the eagle is a symbol in the arms of many nations - amongst them the United States and Germany.

Atop the eagle the imperial crown is shown surrounded by a branch of oak and a branch of laurel – symbols of heroism and victory.

Beside the “Reichsadler” are pictured two females. The one on the left is a symbol for navigation. She holds an oar. The lady on the right side is a symbol for agriculture.

This imperial 100 Mark banknote was issued by the Reichsbankdirektion in Berlin. The banknote is full of pictures with allegorical symbolic. It measures around 20.5 cm * 10 cm. Due to this super-size format the bill was also called the “long hundred”.

This banknote was given out with several issue dates:

• 7. February 1908
• 10. September 1909
• 21. April 1910

The latter version has been issued with red seals and green seals (for the meaning of these seals please have a look at the June article). The banknote was in circulation until 5. June 1925 – although it was completely invaluable during the Inflation of 1922/23.

Front side

The front side of the bill shows portraits of Mercury on the left and Ceres on the right. Mercury is the god of thieves and messenger for other gods and symbolises the trade. Ceres is the goddess of harvest, symbolising agriculture. Both gods are part of the Roman mythology.

Back side

The back side of this banknote shows a whole political program of imperial Germany just before World War I.

The female figure Germania is shown sitting in her armour and holding a shield (showing the German eagle) and a lance. Germania is a symbol for the German people and its unity. Similar to the French “Marianne” it has been used to show the national identity of the German state. Germania was very popular during the time of imperial German after 1871 and appeared on many war and victory monuments during that time. The figure Germania was first used during the times of the Roman Empire to symbolise the newly conquered German provinces. It has over the centuries always been connected to the German idea, but had never been very popular. Germania’s armour, shield and lance are symbols for the willingness to defend law and territory of Germany, which mirrors the politics of pre-WW1 Germany.

Two mighty oaks symbolise the strength and heroism of Germany. Oak branches also were associated with victory and were given to the hero at the time (also in the form of military decoration).

On the left side the German fleet is depicted. In the early 20th century the German empire started a massive build up of the fleet in an ambition to rival England. From this picture the note received its name “Flottenhunderter” - the Fleet Hundred.

In the front of the scene a plough (symbol for agriculture), an anvil (heavy industry), a cogwheel (light industry) and a bale of goods (trading) are displayed, which show the economic ambitions of the German Empire.

Watermark
The note has a very beautiful water mark showing a portrait of the German emperor Wilhelm I. and the denomination of the banknote emphasised with pattern.