20 Reichsmark, 1939

This copy

Accession

OM-00184

Serial

M 1177861

Series year

1939

Actually issued

1939

Signatures

This issue carries no bank manager or cashier signature.

Grade

VG (IBNS)

Edge damage, heavy wear. Estimated from the archival scan. Folds, soiling and edge condition are visible at this resolution; paper crispness, pinholes, small repairs and pressing are not.

Estimated value

$3 indicative

Category benchmark scaled for grade — an order of magnitude, not an appraisal. Priced 2026-09-07.

Dimensions

160.4 × 80.3 mm (±0.5, from the scan)

Themes

Second World WarNazi Germany

The type

Type

20 Reichsmark, 1939

Printer

Not established

Rarity

common

Inscriptions

Reverse — the counterfeiting penalty

Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht, oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Gefängnis nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft.

Whoever counterfeits or falsifies banknotes, or obtains and circulates counterfeit or falsified ones, is punished with not less than two years' imprisonment.

Symbology

Reichsadler

The German eagle. On the 1929 series it is the Weimar republic's; from 1939 it stands on a wreathed swastika, and the same currency financed rearmament and then the war.

What was happening

Reichsbank notes of the Nazi period, distinguishable at a glance by the eagle and swastika replacing the older Reichsbank arms. The designs turn to idealised German types — a peasant girl, a Hitler Youth boy — in place of the scientists and burghers of the 1920s issues. The same currency financed rearmament and then the war.

This account belongs to the type, not this copy — it is shared by every 20 Reichsmark, 1939 in the collection.