Germany, German Reich.

‘German Vampire Banknote’ features a male portrait by Albrecht Durer are all considered to be German Vampire Banknotes. When looking at the picture some people see a vampire sucking on the neck of the young man. This has been interpreted by some as a representation of the French sucking the blood of the Germans through the reparations of World War I.

The German economy was quickly going into a downward spiral with no foreseeable way out. As the treaty was signed n Versailles, there was considerable blame laid upon the French for the economic drain placed on Germany. They felt as is they were being bled dry through the reparations. This banknote depicts this feeling of the German people well. This note depicts the anti French sentiment held by most Germans at the time. Although Durer’s painting “Portrait of a young man” was chosen to be on the banknote, this painting was slightly altered by the engraver at the Reichsdruckeri, who had altered the banknote in the neck of the portrait to depict a rather gothic looking vampire, representing France, which is sucking the life blood out of the throat of Germany through reparations for World War I. It takes a bit of imagination, and a ninety-degree turn of the banknote to the left, to see the hooded vampire, but once spotted, it is readily noticeable from then on. There were three variations of the note yet the altered design of Durer’s portrait was not corrected, showing obvious anti French sentiment held by the Reichsbank at the time.

Uncirculated Consecutive Serial Numbers.