Description:

GERMAN INFLATION CURRENCY
Good lot of 29 pieces of Weimar-era currency in eighteen different styles, all issued by national and regional German treasuries in 1922 and 1923, and all bearing the astronomical denominations seen on currency reflecting the massive hyperinflation at this time. The smallest denomination seen here is an August, 1922-dated one-hundred mark note; by November of that year, we see four examples of a 50,000 mark note. The highest denomination represented here are two December, 1922 1,000 mark notes, with that amount overstamped with "Eine Milliarde Mark" (one billion marks) in red ink. In additional to the notes issued by the national treasury, large-denomination examples printed by the treasuries of Frankfurt-am-Main and Cologne are also represented. All show wear commensurate with age and circulations, else very good. The hyperinflation that made these notes necessary was an inevitable result of the German practice of printing large amounts of paper money in order to buy gold and foreign currencies, which were then used to make war reparations payments dictated by the Treaty of Versailles. The devaluation of the mark rendered Germany unable to make these payments by the fall of 1922, prompting the seizure of the Ruhr valley by French and Belgian forces in January of 1923. Also present are a sizeable group of "rentenmark" and "reichmark" notes of various denominations, which were introduced as a means of stabilizing the runaway inflation, and which were indexed to the market price of gold. This group also contains several examples of World War I-era, pre-inflation mark notes, showing more reasonable denominations. All show circulation wear, else very good.

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April 17, 2018 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000