[BGHater]

Notice the full-bleed watermark pattern (highlighted with a back light). Only front side has printing.

Fünf Millionen translates to Five Million.

[DuncanWaring]

Ping.

[ikka]

I have read this before, but it IS an excellent read and very sobering. Two important quotes from the Epilogue:

Money is no more than a medium of exchange. Only when it has a value acknowledged by more than one person can it be so used. The more general the acknowledgement, the more useful it is. Once no one acknowledged it, the Germans learnt, their paper money had no value or use — save for papering walls or making darts. The discovery which shattered their society was that the traditional repository of purchasing power had disappeared, and that there was no means left of measuring the worth of anything. For many, life became an obsessional search for Sachverte, things of 'real', constant value: Stinnes bought his factories, mines, newspapers. The meanest railway worker bought gewgaws. For most, degree of necessity became the sole criterion of value, the basis of everything from barter to behaviour. Man's values became animal values. Contrary to any philosophic assumption, it was not a salutory experience.

At the end of this section:

In war, boots; in flight, a place in a boat or a seat on a lorry may be the most vital thing in the world, more desirable than untold millions. In hyperinflation, a kilo of potatoes was worth, to some, more than the family silver; a side of pork more than the grand piano. A prostitute in the family was better than an infant corpse; theft was preferable to starvation; warmth was finer than honour, clothing more essential than democracy, food more needed than freedom.

[KarlInOhio]

I have also heard stories of those who came out very well because of hyperinflation. Those stories seemed to focus on people who bought real estate using large mortgages which was wiped out by hyperinflation. Essentially, they got the property for just the down payment. One was a South American deciding to pay off his mortgage after a period of hyperinflation because the stamp every month was more expensive than the mortgage payment was.

[rahbert]

Looks like a private note/coupon for a coal company private store.

My German isn’t too good , but I think it says something about only being good for one month?

Not exactly a banknote, but in 1923 5M RM might buy a cup
of coffee at whatever passed for starbucks in those days.

[Bon mots]

Coming soon to an ObamaNation near you.

[Bon mots]

The book is back in print.

You can click on the book below to get it from Amazon:

You are in luck... it appears that you can still read it or download it for free online here and only here:

When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Collapse

This book was out of print for a while, but now is being reissued. If you are interested, I suggest you grab the free e-book above while it lasts, as it will likely soon disappear since the book has gone back into print.

:)

Of course you can always buy a bookshelf copy from Amazon as it's cheap enough.