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500 Mark
| Issuer | Staatsbank der DDR |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 160 × 70 mm |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents the Staatsrat (State Council) building in East Berlin as the central vignette, rendered in intaglio against a guilloche underprint. The national emblem of the GDR is incorporated into the design alongside the denomination. An anti-counterfeiting legend runs across the note in serif lettering, accompanied by the denomination statement. |
| Reverse lettering | WER BANKNOTEN NACHMACHT ODER VERFÄLSCHT ODER NACHGEMACHTE ODER VERFÄLSCHTE SICH VERSCHAFFT / UM SIE IN VERKEHR ZU BRINGEN / WIRD BESTRAFT FÜNF HUNDERT MARK DER DEUTSCHEN DEMOKRATISCHEN REPUBLIK (Translation: WHOSOEVER COUNTERFEITS BANKNOTES OR FALSIFIES THEM OR PROCURES COUNTERFEITED OR FALSIFIED ONES / IN ORDER TO PUT THEM INTO CIRCULATION / WILL BE PUNISHED / FIVE HUNDRED MARKS OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC) |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
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| Comments |
The 500 Mark was the highest denomination issued by the Staatsbank der DDR and circulated under strict controls — ordinary East German citizens had virtually no legitimate use for a note of this value in everyday life. Wage levels and price structures made it functionally useless in retail commerce. In practice, the note moved primarily through state enterprise accounts and Intershop transactions, where hard currency and Forum-Schecks were often preferred anyway.
Pick 33 is the 1985 revision of the series first introduced in 1975. Counterfeiting pressure on the earlier issues prompted the security review, though the watermark remains the principal protection — modest by contemporary Western standards.