Germany P183a 100 Reichsmark 1935 VF+ Very Fine Plus—Nazi—Large Swastika

One of the rarest intersections of numismatic history and political history: this is one of only two banknotes ever issued for circulation inside Germany itself that carried a swastika — and the only one where it wasn't the small swastika tucked beneath the eagle logo. Here it dominates the center of the note in a bold, unmistakable guilloche underprint. (The other swastika-bearing notes — the Reichskreditkassenscheine — were issued exclusively for use in occupied territories, never for domestic German circulation.)

Front

• Colors: steel-blue/slate dominant engraving; warm cream/buff background; tan-peach guilloche underprint; red serial number
• Portrait: Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), the father of organic chemistry and agricultural chemistry, in circular vignette at right
• Swastika underprint: large swastika in tan/peach guilloche at center — the defining feature of this note and the reason it is historically singular among domestic German issues
• Serial number: H·5705138 in red at upper left and lower right
• Denominations: "Hundert" in large Gothic blackletter script; "100" in numerals at lower left
• Text: Reichsbanknote / Hundert Reichsmark / Ausgegeben auf Grund des Bankgesetzes vom 30. August 1924. / Berlin, den 24. Juni 1935. / Reichsbankdirektorium
• Signatures: four facsimile signatures of the Reichsbank Directorate
• Cross-iris print: present — confirms this as the peace edition (issued from 1936 on)

Back

• Colors: steel-blue/slate engraving throughout; cream/off-white background; red serial number H·5705138 at top and bottom
• Allegorical figures: two classically draped female figures seated on either side of a large central medallion — one holds a torch, the other a cornucopia, representing industry and abundance
• Central medallion: large circular watermark window showing the Liebig portrait watermark when held to light
• Denominations: "100" in all four corners; "Reichsmark" and "Reichsbanknote" in Gothic script
• Counterfeit warning: Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht... wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft (Whoever copies or falsifies banknotes... will be punished with prison for not less than two years)

Other Characteristics

• Varieties:
  • P-183a — peace edition: watermark head, cross-iris print, issued from 1936 on — this note
  • P-183b — intermediate edition: watermark head, without cross-iris print, issued 1941/1942
  • P-183c — war edition: watermark oak leaf, no underprint letter, issued wartime
• Catalog numbers: P-183a; TBB B-209a; Numista N#204560
• Watermark: portrait head (Liebig)
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 180 × 90 mm
• Issuing entity: Reichsbank
• Printer: Reichsdruckerei, Berlin
• Demonetized: 28 June 1948
• Currency: Reichsmark (1924–1948)
• Official language: German

About Germany

• Origin of name: "Germany" derives from the Latin Germania, used by Julius Caesar and Tacitus to describe the lands east of the Rhine; the German name Deutschland comes from Old High German diutisc ("of the people") + land
• Capital: Berlin — city population ~3.7 million; metro ~6.2 million
  • Origin of name: likely from a West Slavic root berl- meaning "swamp" or related to the Old Polabian word for "marsh" — the bear on Berlin's coat of arms is a folk-etymology backformation
• Population: ~84 million (UN 2024) — roughly California and Texas combined
• Area: 357,114 km² (137,882 mi²) — slightly smaller than Montana
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$67,000 (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics
• Borders: Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands
• Official/spoken language: German
• Ethnicities: German (~86%), Turkish (~4%), Polish, Syrian, and other communities
• Memberships: United Nations (1973); NATO (1955; founding member of West Germany's accession); European Union (1993, founding member as West Germany from 1957); G7; G20; OECD
• Sovereignty:
  • Holy Roman Empire (962–1806) — loose confederation of German-speaking states
  • German Confederation (1815–1866) — post-Napoleonic reorganization
  • North German Confederation (1867–1871)
  • German Empire / Kaiserreich (1871–1918) — unified under Prussian leadership; Wilhelm I first Kaiser
  • Weimar Republic (1919–1933) — Germany's first democracy; hyperinflation, political instability
  • Third Reich (1933–1945) — Nazi dictatorship under Adolf Hitler; this note issued during this period
  • Allied Occupation (1945–1949) — divided into four zones
  • Federal Republic of Germany / German Democratic Republic (1949–1990) — West and East Germany
  • Reunification (1990–present)

The Only Swastika on a German Domestic Note — And It's a Big One

When collectors talk about Third Reich banknotes, they often assume swastikas were everywhere. They weren't. The Nazi regime was surprisingly restrained in placing its symbol on the paper money used by ordinary Germans. Of all the banknotes issued for circulation inside Germany, only two carried a swastika: this 100 Reichsmark and the 5 Reichsmark. And on the 5 Mark, the swastika is small — a secondary element tucked beneath the eagle. On this note, it is the centerpiece. It dominates the guilloche underprint in the middle of the obverse, impossible to miss, printed in a warm tan against the cream background.

The Reichskreditkassenscheine — the other Nazi-era notes that carried swastikas — were a different beast entirely. They were occupation currency, printed for use in conquered territories: Poland, France, the Soviet Union, the Balkans. They never circulated in Germany proper. This 100 Reichsmark is the note that Germans actually used — to pay rent, buy groceries, settle debts — while the swastika stared back at them from the center of every bill.

Justus von Liebig: The Man Who Fed the World

Justus von Liebig (1803–1873) was one of the most consequential scientists in history. His work on organic chemistry and agricultural chemistry — particularly his discovery that plants absorb nutrients from the soil in mineral form — laid the foundation for modern fertilizers and, by extension, the ability to feed billions of people. He invented beef extract (the precursor to Oxo and Bovril), developed early baking powder, and pioneered the Liebig condenser still used in chemistry labs today. Placing him on Germany's highest-denomination circulating note was a statement: this is what German civilization stands for.

The irony is not lost on history. A note bearing the face of a man who dedicated his life to feeding humanity also bore, in its center, the symbol of a regime that would starve, displace, and murder millions.

Peace Edition: The First and Finest

This is the peace edition (P-183a) — the original issue, printed from 1936 onward with the cross-iris print security feature and the head watermark. As the war ground on, quality declined: the intermediate edition (P-183b, 1941–1942) dropped the cross-iris print, and the war edition (P-183c) replaced the head watermark with an oak leaf and eliminated the underprint letter entirely. The peace edition is the most complete, most detailed, and most visually striking of the three — the one the Reichsbank was proud of.

Own this note and you hold one of the most historically loaded pieces of 20th-century paper money: a document of everyday German life under the Third Reich, bearing the face of a great scientist and the symbol of a catastrophic regime, printed with the full craft and artistry of the Reichsdruckerei at its peacetime best.