German Papiermark

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

German Papiermark
Mark (German)
A 500 Million mark banknote from Germany of 1923 (http://www.germannotes.com)
A 500 Million mark banknote from Germany of 1923 (http://www.germannotes.com)
User(s) Germany
Subunit
1/100 Pfennig
Symbol M
Pfennig pf.
Plural Mark
Pfennig pfennig
Coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 50 Pfennig
½, 1, 3, 200, 500 Mark
Banknotes 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000, 200 000, 500 000, 1 000 000, 2 000 000, 5 000 000, 107, 2×107, 5×107, 108, 5×108, 109, 5×109, 1010, 2×1010, 5×1010, 1011, 2×1011, 5×1011, 1012, 2×1012, 5×1012, 1013, 2×1013, 5×1013, 1014 Mark
Central bank Reichsbank
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The name Papiermark (English: paper mark) is applied to the German currency from the point in 1914 when the link between the Mark and gold was abandoned, due to the outbreak of the First World War. In particular, the name is used for the banknotes issued during the hyperinflation in Germany of 1922 and especially 1923, which was a result of the Germans' decision to pay their war debt by printing banknotes.

Contents

[edit] History

Further information: 1920s German inflation

From 1914, the value of the Mark fell. The rate of inflation rose following the end of WWI and reached its highest point in October 1923. The currency was stabilized in November, 1923 after the announcement of the creation of the Rentenmark, although the Rentenmark did not come into circulation until 1924. When it did, it replaced the Papiermark at the rate of 1,000,000,000,000 Papiermark = 1 Rentenmark. Later in 1924, the Rentenmark was replaced by the Reichsmark.

In addition to the issues of the government, emergency issues of both tokens and paper money, known as Kriegsgeld (war money) and Notgeld (emergency money), were produced by local authorities .

[edit] Coins

During the war, cheaper metals were introduced for coins, including aluminium, zinc and iron, although silver ½ Mark pieces continued in production until 1919. Aluminium 1 Pfennig were produced until 1918 and the 2 Pfennig till 1916. Whilst iron 5 Pfennig, both iron and zinc 10 Pfennig and aluminium 50 Pfennig coins were issued until 1922. Aluminium 3 Mark were issued in 1922 and 1923, and aluminium 200 and 500 Mark were issued in 1923.

[edit] Banknotes

[edit] First World War issues

In 1914, the State Loan Office began issuing paper money known as "Darlehnskassenschein" ("Darlehnskassenscheine" from 1917). These circulated alongside the issues of the Reichsbank. Most were 1 and 2 Mark notes but there were also 5, 20 and 50 Mark notes.

[edit] Post War issues

The victor nations in WWI decided to assess Germany for their costs of conducting the war against Germany. With no means of paying in gold or currency backed by reserves, Germany ran the presses until the debt was paid, causing the value of the Mark to collapse. Many Germans literally carted wheelbarrows of cash to pay for groceries.

During the hyperinflation, ever higher denominations of banknotes were issued by the Reichsbank and other institutions (notably the Reichsbahn railway company). The Papiermark was produced and circulated in enormously large quantities. Before the war, the highest denomination was 1000 Mark, equivalent to approximately 50 British pounds or 238 US dollars. In early 1922, 10,000 Mark notes were introduced, followed by 100,000 and 1 million Mark notes in February 1923. July 1923 saw notes up to 50 million Mark, with 10 milliard (1010) Mark notes introduced in September. The hyperinflation peaked in October 1923 and banknote denominations rose to 100 billion (1014) Mark. At the end of the hyperinflation, these notes were worth approximately 5 pounds or 24 dollars.

[edit] Note on numeration

In German, "Milliarde" is 1,000,000,000, while "Billion" is 1,000,000,000,000. See Long and short scales.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Goldmark		 German currency
1914-1923		 Succeeded by
Rentenmark