500000 Reichsmark #196

Front

500,000 Mark note issued by the Reichsbankdirektorium during the Weimar Republic hyperinflation of 1923. The serial number appears twice (F.0211972) at top and bottom of the note. The text warns that counterfeiting is punishable by penitentiary and warns against circulation outside the Reich. This denomination represents the catastrophic currency collapse of 1923, when notes were issued in increasingly massive denominations as the Mark became nearly worthless.

Back

German Imperial Eagle (Reichsadler) in medallions on both left and right sides. The central text 'Fünfhunderttausend Mark' (Five hundred thousand Mark) appears in ornate Gothic script. The design includes ornamental borders and denomination indicators '500000' in the corners. The Imperial Eagle, a symbol dating back to the Holy Roman Empire, was retained by the Weimar Republic as a national emblem.

History

This note belongs to the third inflation series of 1923, issued during the catastrophic hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic that peaked in late 1923. By November 1923, prices doubled every few days and workers were paid multiple times daily. The 500,000 Mark denomination reflects the extreme devaluation: by November 1923, 500,000 Marks could purchase only a fraction of what 1 Mark bought in 1914. The hyperinflation was ended by introduction of the Rentenmark in November 1923 at an exchange rate of 1 Rentenmark to 1 trillion (10^12) Papiermark. These notes were demonetized in 1924.