Found the site where I originally got the photo. It's defunct, but the Wayback Machine is your friend!
Metropolis 1927 - Film Archive - Bits n' Pieces
I quote: "Surviving versions of the movie Metropolis do not feature any reference to, or images of, money, yet for the original film money was specially printed and used on a number of occasions. Reference to money is found throughout Thea von Harbou's novel
Metropolis, whilst within the film it features heavily in the Slim / Josaphat sub-plot, whereby Slim goes to the latter's apartment and successfully bribes him to leave Metropolis and desist from helping Freder. The money was also used by Georgy to gain access to the Yoshiwara nightclub and imbide in its carnel pleasures. He had found a large quantity of it in his pockets when he swapped clothes with Freder at the paternoster machine. Though Georgy had intented to take a message to Josaphat regarding a meeting with Freder, the temptation of the money was too great and he never made it to Josaphat's apartment.
"The
Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin, contains a number of examples of this Metropolis money, in 100, 500 and 1000 Mark (Metropolis) denominations. A sample is reproduced above. It is interesting that money should feature this way in Metropolis, for Germany suffered a number of notable financial crises during the 1920s. The country was in the grip of hyperinflation during 1923, just prior to Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou setting down to write their script, and it faced similar problems (though to a lesser degree) during the latter part of 1926, as filming neared completion. This latter financial crisis placed pressure on Ufa executives to ensure that Metropolis - the most expensive German film to date - earned foreign income, particularly in the form of US dollars. The result? - the savage editing of Fritz Lang's three hour version down to a ninety minute American edition.
"At one point towards the end of 1923 inflation in Germany was at the rate of more than 12 million per cent, and hundred thousand mark notes were being printed. It is therefore interesting that there are a number of similarities between the design of the Metropolis money and the one hundred thousand million Mark note which featured in the famous Dada collage 'Bankruptcy Vultures' by Hungarian refugee and Bachaus lecturer Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (reproduced below)."
