100 Mark 1908. IV Issue. Series I. Letter D, Germany
| in Krause book | Number: 33a |
| Years of issue: | 07.02.1908 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Reichsbankdirektorium: Havenestein, v. Glasenapp, Frommer, Schmiedicke, Korn, Maron, v. Lumm, v. Grimm, Kauffmann |
| Serie: | 1908 issue |
| Specimen of: | 07.02.1908 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 160 x 105 |
| Printer: | Reichsdruckerei, Kreuzberger Oranienstraße 91, Berlin (from 06.07.1879 till 03.02.1945) |
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Description
Watermark:
Two denomination 100 and Letter of the Serie are on top. At the bottom - letters "R.B.D" (Reichsbanknote Deutschland - Imperial German banknote).
Avers:
2 red seals of the Bank are in lower and top right corners (please, read Comments).
Centered, on background is The state emblem of the German Empire. Above the coat of arms is the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire.
Extract from the state decree:
"In accordance with the decision of the Imperial Government, I hereby confirm that the federal emblem represents in the golden field of the one-headed black eagle looking to the right, with straightened wings, but with feathers folded, beak, tongue and paws - red."
Many thanks to Reinhard Jansen from Germany for the information about the crown.
In 1871 a design and a model for a new state crown were created to reflect the new German Empire. The model was based upon the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire and was kept in the Hohenzollern museum at Schloss Monbijou in Berlin, until it disappeared during World War II. It has never re-surfaced. No final crown was ever made.
However, the design was used as a heraldic device for the German Kaisers from 1871 until Kaiser Wilhelm's abdication in 1918. The crown was most used as an heraldic symbol, in the German coat of arms and the Emperor's personal standard.
A drawing of the crown is used as an emblem by a German monarchist group called "Tradition und Leben" ("tradition and life").
Crowns for the Empress and Crown Prince were also designed and wooden models made. 
In lower left corner is the inscriptions: "Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht, oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter zwei Jahren bestraft."
In English:
"Anyone who imitates or distorts banknotes, imitates or falsifies and puts them on the market, will be punished in a official house not less than two years."
Also, centered, is the inscription: "100 marks will be paid by the Reichsbank, in Berlin, without showing any identity card, to the bearer of this note. Berlin, February 7, 1908"
Revers:
In patterned frame, centered, is Goddess Freyja.
In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse for "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, keeps the boar Hildisvíni by her side, possesses a cloak of falcon feathers, and, by her husband Óðr, is the mother of two daughters, Hnoss and Gersemi. Along with her brother Freyr (Old Norse "(the) Lord"), her father Njörðr, and her mother (Njörðr's sister, unnamed in sources), she is a member of the Vanir. Stemming from Old Norse Freyja, modern forms of the name include Freya, Freyia, and Freja.
Freyja rules over her heavenly afterlife field Fólkvangr and there receives half of those that die in battle, whereas the other half go to the god Odin's hall, Valhalla. Within Fólkvangr is her hall, Sessrúmnir. Freyja assists other deities by allowing them to use her feathered cloak, is invoked in matters of fertility and love, and is frequently sought after by powerful jötnar who wish to make her their wife. Freyja's husband, the god Óðr, is frequently absent. She cries tears of red gold for him, and searches for him under assumed names. Freyja has numerous names, including Gefn, Hörn, Mardöll, Sýr, Valfreyja, and Vanadís.
Freyja is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the XIII century from earlier traditional sources; in the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, composed by Snorri Sturluson in the XIII century; in several Sagas of Icelanders; in the short story Sörla þáttr; in the poetry of skalds; and into the modern age in Scandinavian folklore.
Scholars have debated whether Freyja and the goddess Frigg ultimately stem from a single goddess common among the Germanic peoples; connected her connection to the valkyries, female battlefield choosers of the slain; and analyzed her relation to other goddesses and figures in Germanic mythology, including the thrice-burnt and thrice-reborn Gullveig/Heiðr, the goddesses Gefjon, Skaði, Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa, Menglöð, and the I century CE "Isis" of the Suebi. Freyja's name appears in numerous place names in Scandinavia, with a high concentration in southern Sweden. Various plants in Scandinavia once bore her name, but it was replaced with the name of the Virgin Mary during the process of Christianization. Rural Scandinavians continued to acknowledge Freyja as a supernatural figure into the 19th century, and Freyja has inspired various works of art.
On right side is the allegory of Agriculture. Nearby are: wheat, fruits and vegetables.
On left side - the allegory of Industry. Near is the hammer.
Denominations are in top corners.
Comments:
Banknotes of the first and second issues were printed with two red and green seals.
Red seals - meant free exchange for gold.
Green seals - not covered by gold.
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