GERMAN MARK

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The 'Deutsche Mark' (DEM, DM) or German Mark was the official currency of West Germany and, from 1990 onwards, all of unified Germany. It was first issued under Allied occupation in 1948 replacing the Reichsmark, and served as the Federal Republic of Germany's official currency from its founding the following year until 1999, when the Mark was replaced by the euro; its coins and banknotes remained in circulation, defined in terms of euros, until the introduction of euro notes and coins in early 2002. The Deutsche Mark ceased to be legal tender immediately upon the introduction of the euro — in contrast to the other eurozone nations, where the euro and legacy currency circulated side by side for up to two months. However, DM coins and banknotes continued to be accepted as valid forms of payment in Germany up until 28 February 2002.
The Deutsche Bundesbank has guaranteed that all DM cash may be changed into euros indefinitely, and one may do so at any branch of the Bundesbank. As of 2006 there are still promotions every now and then where Mark are accepted in shops.
One euro is set to be equivalent to DEM 1.95583.
One Deutsche Mark was divided into 100 ''Pfennig''; in colloquial German, the 10 Pfennig coin was called a ''Groschen''.

Contents

History

Coins

Banknotes

Banknotes of the fourth series (1990–2002)

Spelling & Pronunciation

The mark as a major international reserve currency

References

See also

External links

History

A Mark had been the currency of Germany since its original unification in 1871. Before that time, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16 2/3 grams of pure silver. Although the Mark was based on gold rather than silver, a fixed exchange rate between the Vereinsthaler and the Mark of 3 Mark = 1 Vereinsthaler was used for the conversion.
The first Mark, known as the Goldmark, was introduced in 1873. With the outbreak of the First World War, the Mark was taken off the gold standard. The currency thus became known as the Papiermark, especially as high inflation, then hyperinflation occurred and the currency became exclusively made up of paper money. The Papiermark was replaced by the Rentenmark in late 1923 and the Reichsmark in 1924.
The Deutsche Mark was introduced on 21 June 1948 by the Western Allies (the USA, the United Kingdom and France). The old Reichsmark and Rentenmark were exchanged for the new currency at a rate of 1 Deutsche Mark = 1 Reichsmark for the essential currency such as wages, payment of rents etc, and 1 Deutsche Mark = 10 Reichsmark for the remainder in private non banks credit balance, with half frozen. Large amounts were exchanged for 10RM to 65 pfennigs. In addition, each person received a per capita allowance of 60 Deutsche Mark, the first of DM40 and the second DM20.^[1]
The introduction of the new currency was intended to protect western Germany from a second wave of hyperinflation and to stop the rampant barter and black market trade (where American cigarettes acted as currency). The move angered the Soviet authorities, who regarded it as a threat. When the Deutsche Mark was introduced in West Berlin, the Soviets promptly cut off all road, rail and canal links between the three western zones and West Berlin. This led to the Berlin Blockade.
In the former GDR, the East German Mark (initially also called the Deutsche Mark) was introduced a few days afterwards in the form of Reichsmark and Rentenmark notes with adhesive stamps to stop the flooding in of Reichsmark and Rentenmark notes from the West. In July 1948, a completely new series of East German Mark notes was issued.
The Deutsche Mark was first issued by the Allied Military. Later in 1948, the Bank deutscher Länder took over issuance, followed, from 1960, by the Deutsche Bundesbank. It earned a reputation as a strong store of value at times when other national currencies succumbed to periods of inflation. It became a source of national pride and an anchor for the country's economic prosperity, particularly during the years of the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' in the 1950s. In the 1990s, opinion polls showed a majority of Germans opposed to the adoption of the euro; polls today show a significant number would prefer to return to the Mark.
The Deutsche Mark played an important role in re-unification. It was introduced as the official currency of East Germany in July 1990, replacing the East German Mark, in preparation for unification on October 3. Ostmark bank accounts were exchanged at a rate of 1:1 for the first 4000 Mark and 2:1 for larger amounts, rates which many economists have criticized as being too generous and a key cause of the subsequent economic problems in the new German states.

Coins

The first DM coins were issued by the Bank deutscher Länder in 1948 and 1949. From 1950, the inscription ''Bundesrepublik Deutschland'' (Federal Republic of Germany) appeared on the coins.

Denomination	Dates Issued	Composition	Obverse	Reverse
1 Pfennig	1948-2001	1948-1949: Bronze plated steel 1950-2001: Copper plated steel	Oak sprig	Denomination
2 Pfennig	1950-2001	1950-1968: Bronze 1968-2001: Bronze plated steel	Oak sprig	Denomination
5 Pfennig	1949-2001	Brass plated steel	Oak sprig	Denomination
10 Pfennig	1949-2001	Brass plated steel	Oak sprig	Denomination
50 Pfennig	1949-2001	Brass plated steel	Woman planting an oak seedling	Denomination
1 DM	1950-2001	Cupro-nickel	German eagle	Denomination
2 DM	1957-2001	Cupro-nickel	German eagle	1957-1971: Max Planck 1969-1987: Konrad Adenauer 1970-1987: Theodor Heuss 1979-2001: Kurt Schumacher 1988-2001: Ludwig Erhard 1990-1994: Franz Josef Strauß 1994-2001: Willy Brandt
5 DM	1957-2001	1951-1974: Silver 1975-2001: Cupro-nickel	German eagle	Denomination

There were a considerable number of commemorative silver 5 and 10 DM coins, which actually had the status of legal tender but were rarely seen outside of collectors' circles.

In addition, on 27 December 2000, the German government enacted a law authorizing the Bundesbank to issue, in 2001, a special .999 pure gold 1 DM coin commemorating the end of the DM. The coin had the exact design and dimensions of the circulating cupro-nickel 1 DM coin, with the exception of the inscription on the reverse, which read "Deutsche Bundesbank" (instead of "Bundesrepublik Deutschland"), as the Bundesbank was the issuing authority in this case. A total of one million gold DM coins were minted (200,000 at each of the five mints) and were sold beginning in the summer of 2001 through German coin dealers on behalf of the Bundesbank. The issue price varied by dealer but averaged approximately $165 in U.S. dollars.
German coins bear a mint mark, indicating where the coin was minted. D indicates Munich, F Stuttgart, G Karlsruhe and J Hamburg. Coins minted during WW2 include the mint marks A (Berlin) and B (Vienna). The mint mark A was also used for DM coins minted in Berlin beginning in 1990 following the reunification of Germany. These mint marks have been continued on the German Euro coins.

Banknotes

There were four series of DM banknotes:

★ The first was issued in 1948 by the Allied military. There were denominations of ½, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 DM, with two designs of 20 and 50 DM notes.

★ The second series was introduced in 1948 by the ''Bank deutscher Länder'', an institution of the western occupation government. The designs were similar to the US Dollar and French franc, as the job of designing and printing the different denominations was shared between the Bank of France and the American Bank Note Company. There were denominations of 5 and 10 Pfennig, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 DM.

★ The third series was introduced in 1960 by the Bundesbank, depicting neutral symbols and famous paintings and buildings. There were 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 DM denominations.

★ The fourth was introduced in 1990 by the Bundesbank to counter advances in forgery technology. The notes depicted German artists and scientists together with symbols and tools of their trade. This series added a 200 DM denomination, to decrease the use of 100 DM banknotes, which made up 54% of all circulating banknotes, and to fill the "gap" between the 100 DM and 500 DM denomination. Nevertheless the 200 DM denomination was rather rare.
In the latter two series, the 5 DM denomination was rarely seen, as were the ones with a value greater than 100 DM.

Banknotes of the fourth series (1990–2002)

The design of German banknotes remained unchanged during the 1960s, 70's and 80's. During this period, forgery technology made significant advances so, in the late 1980s, the Bundesbank decided to issue a new series of Deutsche Mark banknotes. The colours for each denomination remained unchanged from the previous series but the designs underwent significant changes and a 200 DM denomiation was introduced. Famous national artists and scientists were chosen to be portrayed on the new banknotes. Male and female artists were chosen in equal numbers. The buildings in the background of the notes' obverses had a close relationship to the person displayed (e.g., place of birth, place of death, place of work), as well as the second background picture (Lyra and the musician Schumann). The reverses of the notes refer to the work of the person on the obverse.
The new security features were: a windowed security-thread (with the notes denomination in microprinting), watermark, micro-printing, intaglio-printing (viewing-angle dependent visibility as well as a braille representation of the notes denomination), colour-shifting ink (on the 500 and 1000 DEM denominations), a see-through register and UV-visible security features.
First to be issued were the 100 and 200 DM denominations on 1 October 1990 (although the banknote shows "Frankfurt am Main, 2. Januar 1989"). The next denomination was 10 DM on 16 April 1991, followed by 50 DM in autumn the same year. Next was the 20 DEM note on 20 March 1992 (printed on 2 August 1991). The reason for this gradual introduction was, that public should become familiar with one single denomination, before introducing a new one. The change was finished with the introduction of the 5, 500, and 1000 DM denominations on 27 October 1992. The latter three denominations were rarely seen in circulation and were introduced in one step. With the advance of forgery technology, the Bundesbank decided to introduce additional security features on the most important denominations (50, 100, and 200 DM) as of 1996. These were a hologram foil in the center of the note's obverse, a matted printing on the note's right obverse, showing its denomination (like on the reverse of the new €5, €10, and €20 banknotes), and the EURion constellation on the note's reverse. Furthermore, the colors were changed a bit to pastel to hamper counterfeing.

1989 Series [1]
Image		Value	€ equiv.	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of
Obverse	Reverse					Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	first printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
5 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	5 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	5 DM	2.56	122 × 62 mm	Yellowish-green	Bettina von Arnim, Wiepersdorf estate and buildings of historic Berlin	Brandenburg Gate	As portrait	1 August 1991	27 October 1992	31 December 2001	Indefinite
10 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	10 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	10 DM	5.11	130 × 65 mm	Blue-violet	Carl Friedrich Gauss, Gaussian distribution, historic buildings of Göttingen	Sextant, a small map showing the triangulation of the Kingdom of Hannover performed by Gauss		2 January 1989	16 April 1991
20 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	20 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	20 DM	10.23	138 × 68 mm	Blueish-green	Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, buildings of the city of Meersburg	A quill pen and a beech-tree, referring to her work ''Die Judenbuche''		1 August 1991	20 March 1992
[2]	[3]	50 DM	25.56	146 × 71 mm	Yellowish-brown	Balthasar Neumann, buildings of Old-Würzburg	Partial view of the stairway in the Würzburg Residence, the ground plan of a famous chapel, ''Kreuzkapelle,'' in Kitzingen		2 January 1989	30 September 1991
[4]	[5]	100 DM	51.13	154 × 74 mm	Dark blue	Clara Schumann, buildings of historic Leipzig and a lyre	Grand piano, the Hoch Conservatory			1 October 1990
[6]	[7]	200 DM	102.26	162 × 77 mm	Orange	Paul Ehrlich, buildings of historic Frankfurt, the formula of Arsphenamine	Microscope, the Rod of Asclepius surrounded by simplified cell structures
500 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	500 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	500 DM	255.65	170 × 80 mm	Red-violet	Anna Maria Sibylla Merian, an insect, buildings of ancient Nuremberg	Dandelion, inchworm, butterfly		1 August 1991	27 October 1992
1000 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	1000 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	1000 DM	511.29	178 × 83 mm	Dark-brown	Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm, buildings of historic Kassel	The 'German dictionary' (''Deutsches Wörterbuch''), the Royal library in Berlin
Hologram variant
50 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	50 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	50 DM	25.56	As previous					2 January 1996	2 February 1998	31 December 2001	Indefinite
100 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	100 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	100 DM	102.26							1 August 1997
200 Deutsche Mark, Obverse	200 Deutsche Mark, Reverse	200 DM	102.26

Spelling & Pronunciation

The German name of the currency is '''Deutsche Mark''' (fem.) ; its plural form in standard German was the same as the singular. In German, the adjective "deutsche" (adjective for "German" in feminine singular nominative form) is capitalized due to its part in a proper name, while the noun "Mark", like all German nouns, is always capitalized. The English loanword "Deutschmark" had a slightly different spelling (possibly due to the silent E in English) and a plural form. In Germany, the currency's name was often abbreviated as '''Mark''' (fem.) or sometimes '''D-Mark''' (fem.) with the latter term also often used in English. Like '''Deutsche Mark''', '''D-Mark''' and '''Mark''' have no plural form, the singular being used to refer to any amount of money (e.g. ''eine (one) Mark'' and ''dreißig (thirty) Mark''). Sometimes, a plural form of '''Mark''', '''Märker''' was used as either as diminuitive form or to refer to a (physically present or small) number of D-Mark coins or bills (e.g. ''Gib mir mal ein paar Märker'' (Just give me a few Mark (-bills or -coins)) and ''Die lieben Märker wieder'' (The lovely money again (with ironic undertone)).
The subdivision unit is spelled '''Pfennig''' (masc.) , which (unlike ''Mark'') does have a commonly used plural form: 'Pfennige' , but the singular could also be used instead with no difference in meaning. (e.g.: ''ein (one) Pfennig'', ''dreißig (thirty) Pfennige'' or ''dreißig (thirty) Pfennig'').

The mark as a major international reserve currency

Main articles: Reserve currency

Before the switch to the euro, the mark was considered a major international reserve currency, second only to the US dollar.

References

1. http://www.bundesbank.de/download/volkswirtschaft/mba/2002/200203_en_dmark.pdf Accessed 31-12-2006

See also

★ Euro

★ German euro coins

★ Coinage of the Federal Republic of Germany

★ German Papiermark and Notgeld

★ German Reichsmark

★ Economy of Germany

External links

★ German historical Banknotes and Old Paper Money from Germany

★ Overview of German Mark from BBC online

★ Historical US Dollars to German Marks currency conversion, 1913-2005

★ Coins 2