Germany Weimar Republic stamps year 1923 500t mark MNH
That particular stamp is a powerful artifact of the German Hyperinflation crisis of 1923, one of the most famous and chaotic periods in philatelic history.
The value you mentioned, 500 Tausend Mark (500,000 Mark), was a significant denomination in the middle stages of the inflation spiral.
Here are the key details about the 500 Tausend Mark stamp from 1923:
🇩🇪 500 Tausend Mark Stamp (Michel #313)
| Feature | Detail |
| Denomination | 500 Tausend Mark (500,000 Mark) |
| Catalogue Number | Michel #313 (in the main definitive series) |
| Series | “Number in Circle” or “Basket Lid” (Ziffer im Kreis) |
| Design | The denomination value, “500 Tausend”, centered in an ornate circle (rosette-like design). |
| Color | Blackish Orange-Brown (or sometimes just dark brown) |
| Watermark | Network/Waffle (Waffel-Muster) |
| Significance | This was part of a major set of new definitive stamps issued in quick succession (starting around August/September 1923) as the government desperately tried to keep pace with the hyperinflation, moving from thousands to millions, then billions, and finally trillions of marks. |
Context of the 1923 Inflation Stamps
The year 1923 saw postage stamp values in Germany increase at an astronomical rate. Your 500 Tausend Mark stamp was part of a transitionary phase:
- Early 1923: Denominations were in the hundreds and thousands of Marks.
- Summer 1923 (Approx.): Values rose to the hundreds of thousands (like your 500 Tausend Mark stamp).
- Late Summer/Autumn 1923: Values quickly jumped into the Millions (e.g., 5 Million, 10 Million, 100 Million Mark).
- Late Autumn 1923: The ultimate climax, with stamps reaching Billions (Milliarden) and eventually Trillions (Billionen, in German terminology) of Marks.
These stamps illustrate the utter collapse of the currency, where the cost of mailing a single letter required stamps with values that would have been unimaginable just a year earlier.
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