Mark
The Mark (1 Mark = 100 Pfennig) was the official currency of the German Empire from 1871
till 1924. It was introduced based on the legislation from the 9. July 1873. The first
Mark banknotes were issued on the 1. January 1876. The currency was created after the
unification of Germany in 1871 to provide a single currency within the new entity.
Initially only banknotes in denominations of 100 and 1,000 Mark were issued, which were used
mainly between banks and businesses. Since average salaries were around 100 Mark per month in 1900,
the normal man on the street only used coins to pay.
This changed at the beginning of the 20th century, when also 5 Mark notes were issued. With
the inflation starting to decrease the value of
the banknotes they soon became common for everyone.
Goldmark
The Mark was covered by reserves of Gold until 1918. Therefore it is also referred to as
"Goldmark". The coins of the time had an intrinsic value. The highest denomination coins
were minted in Gold. But also the banknotes could be exchanged into Gold at anytime and
was therefore regarded as safe as Gold.
This form of money is also referred to as Representative money.
Papiermark
Papiermark (Paper mark) was the nickname for the banknotes issued during the
hyperinflation in Germany in 1922 and mainly 1923.
Ever higher denominations of banknotes were issued by the central bank
and other institutions (Notgeld). No coins were minted anymore during this
period, but only banknotes were issued. As a result, the currency was referred to as Papiermark, or Mark made of paper.
Rentenmark
The Rentenmark was introduced in Germany on 15. November 1923 to stop the
hyperinflation (1922 & 1923). It replaced
the Mark, which was completely devalued due to the
Inflation. The Rentenmark was
an intermediate currency controlled by the
Rentenbank. It was officially replaced
by the Reichsmark in 1924.
Due to the economic crises in Germany during and after the
Great War there was no Gold available
to back the Rentenmark. Therefore the Rentenbank mortgaged
land and industrial goods worth an equivalent of 3.2 billion Rentenmark to back
the new currency. The Rentenmark was pegged to the US Dollar at a rate of
1 Dollar = 4 Rentenmark. The rate of the Rentenmark to the Papiermark was
1:1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion Papiermark).
The introduction of the Rentenmark was driven by
Hjalmar Schacht - the Director
of the Central Bank, the
Chancellor of Germany
Gustav Stresemann
and the Finance Minister Hans Luther.
It was planned that the Rentenmark would only be used during the years 1923 and 1924.
The central bank was however not able to pay back the money to free the mortgaged assets.
Therefore the Rentenmark stayed in circulation until the late 1930's. The last issue took
place in 1937.
Reichsmark
The Reichsmark (Symbol: RM; 1 RM = 100 Reichspfennig) was the official German currency
of the Weimar Republic and
German Reich of the Nazis
from 30. August 1924 until 20. June 1948. It was replaced by the Deutsche Mark in
West Germany and by the
East German mark
("Mark der DDR" or "Ostmark") in East Germany.
The Reichsmark was introduced in 1924 as a replacement of the Rentenmark. The exchange
rate was 1 Rentenmark = 1 Reichsmark. The rate to the old inflationary Papiermark was
1.000.000.000.000 Mark = 1 RM (One trillion to one). The Reichsmark was pegged to the
Dollar at a rate of 4 RM = US$1. It was also pegged to Gold at 1 RM = 1/2790 kg of fine
gold. The Rentenmark continued to be in circulation and use in parallel to the Reichsmark.
Reichsmark was also issued for the occupied territories
and the German army during World War II.
Deutsche Mark
The Deutsche Mark (Symbol DM, DEM; 1 DM = 100 Pfennig) was the official currency of
West Germany from the monetary reform in 1948 until
the introduction of the Euro in 1999. The coins and bills were withdrawn from
circulation in 2002. The Deutsche Bundesbank guarantees that all Deutsche Mark banknotes
may be changed into Euro forever. One Euro was set to be equivalent to DEM 1.95583.
After the unification of West and East Germany
the Deutsche Mark was also introduced in the former East German areas, replacing
the Mark der DDR as official currency.
The Deutsche Mark was introduced in 1948 by the Western Allied powers in their areas
of responsibility. It was intended to protect West Germany from the second wave of
hyperinflation and stop the rampant barter
and black market trade (where American cigarettes acted as currency).
This move annoyed the Russian authorities in East Berlin, who regarded it as a
threat and promptly cut off all transport (road, rail and canal) links from
West Germany to West Berlin. This led to the
Berlin Crisis of 1949.
Deutsche Mark banknote issues in West Germany
Three series of Deutsche Mark banknotes were issued:
- 1948 issued by the Bank deutscher Länder,
an institution of the western occupation government with designs similar to the US Dollar
- 1960 issued by the Bundesbank,
depicting neutral symbols and famous paintings and buildings.
There were 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 DEM denomination bills.
- 1989 issued by the Bundesbank to
counter advances in forgery technology. The notes depicted German artists and scientists
together with symbols and tools of their trade. A 200 DEM denomination bill was added.
In the latter two series, the 5 DEM denomination was rarely seen in circulation, as were
the ones with a value greater than 100 DEM.
Deutsche Mark banknote issues in East Germany
The first issue of banknotes in East Germany in 1948 was also
called Deutsche Mark. The banknotes were issued as a response to the money reform on the West and were
of course different from those used in West Germany.
The banknotes were issued in denominations of 50 Pfennig and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 Deutsche Mark.
Its official name was "DM der Deutschen Notenbank" to differentiate the money from the DM in
West Germany.
During the money reform of 1957 new banknotes were issued in East Germany, very similar to those from 1948,
still named Deutsche Mark. Only in 1964 the DM was replaced in East Germany by "Mark der Deutschen Notenbank",
which was valid only for a few years.
Mark der DDR
The Mark der DDR was first issued in the early 1970s. The official issue years (as printed on the banknotes) were
1971 and 1975. These bills were issued by the Staatsbank der DDR.
The series show images that are easily identified
as propaganda - leaders of the communist movements and heroic scenes from socialist life.
The banknotes issued were denominated in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Mark der DDR. The bills were valid until 30. June 1990,
when the Deutsche Mark from West Germany became the official currency also in the East.
Later after the break-down of East Germany 200 and 500 Mark banknotes were
discovered. These bills, with the year of 1985
printed on them, were never issued. it turned out that after they were printed the banknotes became a political liability
for the East German leadership, which feared that these high
denominations would be seen as a proof of Inflationary tendencies in East Germany.
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