German Papiermark
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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.
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[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 pieces but there were also 5, 20 and 50 Mark notes.
During the war, cheaper metals were introduced for the coins, including aluminium, zinc and iron, although silver ½ Mark pieces continued in production until 1919. Emergency issues of both tokens and paper money were made, known as Kriegsgeld (war money) and Notgeld (emergency money).
[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.
During the hyperinflation, ever higher denominations of banknotes were issued by the Reichsbank and other institutions (notably the Reichsbahn railway company). Almost no coins were minted during this period; except for a short-lived issue of aluminium 200 Mark and 500 Mark coins, only banknotes were issued. 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.
The inflation in Germany was stopped by an economic reform in which a new currency, the Rentenmark, was introduced at an exchange rate of 1,000,000,000,000 old Mark. In 1924, the Rentenmark was replaced by the Reichsmark.
[edit] Note on numeration
In German, "Milliarde" is equivalent to the British "milliard" and the American "billion", whilst "Billion" is equivalent to the British "billion" and the American "trillion". See Long and short scales.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Goldmark |
German currency 1914-1923 |
Succeeded by Rentenmark |
