| Mark (German) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 100 trillion-ℳ︁ note, 1924 (short scale (US) or 100 billion-ℳ︁ long scale (UK pre-1974, Germany, much of Europe) | |
| Unit | |
| Plural | Mark |
| Symbol | ℳ︁ |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄100 | Pfennig |
| Plural | |
| Pfennig | Pfennig |
| Symbol | |
| Pfennig | ₰ |
| Banknotes | 1ℳ︁, 2ℳ︁, 5ℳ︁, 10ℳ︁, 20ℳ︁, 50ℳ︁, 100ℳ︁, 500ℳ︁ 1,000ℳ︁, 5,000ℳ︁, 10,000ℳ︁, 20,000ℳ︁, 50,000ℳ︁, 100,000ℳ︁, 200,000ℳ︁, 500,000ℳ︁ 1-million-ℳ︁, 2-million-ℳ︁, 5-million-ℳ︁, 10-million-ℳ︁, 20-million-ℳ︁, 50-million-ℳ︁, 100-million-ℳ︁, 500-million-ℳ︁ 1-billion-ℳ︁, 5-billion-ℳ︁, 10-billion-ℳ︁, 20-billion-ℳ︁, 50-billion-ℳ︁, 100-billion-ℳ︁, 200-billion-ℳ︁, 500-billion-ℳ︁ 1-trillion-ℳ︁, 2-trillion-ℳ︁, 5-trillion-ℳ︁, 10-trillion-ℳ︁, 20-trillion-ℳ︁, 50-trillion-ℳ︁, 100-trillion-ℳ︁ |
| Coins | 1₰, 2₰, 5₰, 10₰, 50₰ (1⁄2ℳ︁) 1ℳ︁, 3ℳ︁, 200ℳ︁, 500ℳ︁ |
| Demographics | |
| Replaced | German mark (1871) |
| Replaced by | Rentenmark |
| User(s) |  German Empire Weimar Republic Free City of Danzig Klaipėda Region |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Reichsbank |
| Valuation | |
| Pegged with | United States dollar = 4.2-trillion-ℳ︁ =RM4.20 (1 trillionshort scale (US) or 1 billion long scale (UK pre-1974, Germany, much of Europe) = 1,000,000,000,000) |
| This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |
ThePapiermark (German:[paˈpiːɐ̯ˌmaʁk]ⓘ;lit. 'paper mark') was a derisive term for theMark (sign:ℳ︁) after it went off the gold standard, and most specifically with the era ofhyperinflation in Germany of 1922 and 1923. Formally, the sameGerman mark was used from 1871 to 1923. Like many countries, Germany departed the gold standard due to the outbreak ofWorld War I, and stopped issuing gold coins backed in marks in August 1914. Precious metals rapidly disappeared from circulation, and inflation occurred aspaper money was used to cover war debts in 1914 to 1918. Still, the papiermark is more associated with the earlyWeimar Republic era, when inflation grew out of control. By the time the mark was retired from circulation and renominated in December 1923, banknotes had amounts in the billions and trillions of marks by face value.[1][2][3]
From 1914, the value of the mark fell.[4] The rate of inflation rose following the end of World War I and reached its highest point in October 1923. The currency stabilized in November 1923 after the announcement of the creation of theRentenmark, although the Rentenmark did not come into circulation until 1924. When it did, it replaced the Papiermark at the rate of 1-trillion (1012)-ℳ︁ toRM1. On 30 August 1924 the Rentenmark was replaced by theReichsmark.[5]
In addition to the issues of the government, emergency issues of both tokens and paper money, known asKriegsgeld (war money) andNotgeld (emergency money), were produced by local authorities.[6]
The Papiermark was also used in theFree City of Danzig until it was replaced by theDanzig Gulden in late 1923. Several coins and emergency issues in Papiermark were issued by the free city.[7]
During the war, cheaper metals were introduced for coins, includingaluminium,zinc andiron, althoughsilver1⁄2ℳ︁ pieces continued in production until 1919. Aluminium 1₰ were produced until 1918 and the 2₰ until 1916.[8] Whilst iron 5₰, both iron and zinc 10₰, and aluminium 50₰ coins were issued until 1922.[9][10][11] Aluminium 3ℳ︁ were issued in 1922 and 1923,[12] and aluminium 200ℳ︁ and 500ℳ︁ were issued in 1923.[13][14] The quality of many of these coins varied from decent to poor.
During this period, many provinces and cities also had their own corresponding coin and note issues, referred to asNotgeld currency. This came about often due to a shortage of exchangeable tender in one region or another during the war and hyperinflation periods.[6] Some of the most memorable of these to be issued during this period came fromWestphalia and featured the highest face value denominations on a coin ever, eventually reaching 1-billion-ℳ︁.[15]
In 1914, the State Loan Office began issuing paper money known asDarlehnskassenschein (loan fund notes). These circulated alongside the issues of theReichsbank. Most were 1ℳ︁ and 2ℳ︁ notes but there were also 5ℳ︁, 20ℳ︁, 50ℳ︁ and 100ℳ︁ notes.[16]
Between 1914 and the end of 1923 the Papiermark's rate of exchange against the U.S. dollar plummeted from 4.2ℳ︁ = US$1 to 4.2-trillionℳ︁ = US$1.[17] The price of one gold mark (358 mg of pure gold) in German paper currency at the end of 1918 was 2ℳ︁, but by the end of 1919 a gold mark cost 10ℳ︁.[18] This inflation worsened between 1920 and 1922, and the cost of a gold mark (or conversely the devaluation of the paper mark) rose from 15ℳ︁ to 1,282ℳ︁.[18] In 1923 the value of the paper mark had its worst decline. By July, the cost of a gold mark had risen to 101,112ℳ︁, and in September was already at 13-million-ℳ︁.[18] On 30 Nov 1923 it cost 1-trillion-ℳ︁ to buy a single gold mark.[18]
In October 1923, Germany experienced a 29,500% hyperinflation (roughly 21% interest per day).[19] Historically, this one-month inflation rate has only been exceeded three times:Yugoslavia, 313,000,000% (64.6% per day, January 1994);Zimbabwe, 79.6 billion% (98% per day, November 2008); andHungary, 41.9quadrillion% (207% per day, July 1946).[19][20]
On 15 November 1923 the Papiermark was replaced by theRentenmark at RM4.2 Rentenmark = US$1,[17] or 1 trillion-ℳ︁ = RM1 (exchangeable through July 1925).[21]
During the hyperinflation, ever higher denominations ofbanknotes were issued by theReichsbank[22] and other institutions (notably theReichsbahn railway company).[23] The Papiermark was produced and circulated in enormously large quantities. Before the war, the highest denomination was 1,000ℳ︁, equivalent to approximately£stg48.9 or US$238.09. In early 1922, 10,000ℳ︁ notes were introduced, followed by 100,000ℳ︁ and 1-million-ℳ︁ notes in February 1923. July 1923 saw notes up to 50-million-ℳ︁, with 10-milliard (1010)-ℳ︁ notes introduced in September. The hyperinflation peaked in October 1923 and banknote denominations rose to 100-trillion (1014)-ℳ︁. At the end of the hyperinflation, these notes were worth approximately £stg5.2 or US$23.81.[24][25][26]
| Year | Issue | Value[nb 1] | Date[nb 2] | Image | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 | First[27] | 10ℳ︁ | 6 Feb 1920 | .jpg) | 126 mm × 84 mm (5.0 in × 3.3 in) |
| 50ℳ︁ | 23 Jul 1920 | .jpg) | 150 mm × 100 mm (5.9 in × 3.9 in) | ||
| 100ℳ︁ | 1 Nov 1920 | .jpg) | Portraits based on theBamberg riders atBamberg Cathedral 162 mm × 108 mm (6.4 in × 4.3 in) | ||
1922 | First[28] | 10,000ℳ︁ | 19 Jan 1922 | .jpg) | Portrait of a young Man byAlbrecht Dürer 210 mm × 124 mm (8.3 in × 4.9 in) |
| Second[29] | 500ℳ︁ | 27 Mar 1922 | .jpg) | Jakob Meyer of theMeyer zum Pfeil family 175 mm × 112 mm (6.9 in × 4.4 in) | |
| 500ℳ︁ | 7 Jul 1922 | .jpg) | 173 mm × 90 mm (6.8 in × 3.5 in) | ||
| Third[29] | 100ℳ︁ | 4 Aug 1922 | .jpg) | 162 mm × 90 mm (6.4 in × 3.5 in) | |
| 1,000ℳ︁ | 15 Sep 1922 | .jpg) | 160 mm × 85 mm (6.3 in × 3.3 in) | ||
| 5,000ℳ︁ | 16 Sep 1922 | .jpg) | Section ofPortrait of a Man with a Coin byHans Memling 130 mm × 90 mm (5.1 in × 3.5 in) | ||
| 5,000ℳ︁ | 19 Nov 1922 | .jpg) | Portrait of Hans Urmiller based onPortrait of Hans Urmiller and his Son byBarthel Beham 198 mm × 107 mm (7.8 in × 4.2 in) | ||
| 50,000ℳ︁ | 19 Nov 1922 | .jpg) | Bürgermeister Arnold von Brauweiler based onBurgomaster Arnold von Brauweiler byBarthel Bruyn the Elder 190 mm × 110 mm (7.5 in × 4.3 in) | ||
| Fourth[29] | 5,000ℳ︁ | 2 Dec 1922 | .jpg) | Merchant Imhof based onPortrait of a Man byAlbrecht Dürer 130 mm × 90 mm (5.1 in × 3.5 in) | |
| Fifth[30] | 1,000ℳ︁ | 15 Dec 1922 | .jpg) | Portrait of Jörg Herz based onJörg Herz Nürnberger Münzmeister byGeorg Pencz 140 mm × 90 mm (5.5 in × 3.5 in) | |
1923 | First[30] | 100,000ℳ︁ | 1 Feb 1923 | .jpg) | MerchantGeorg Giese based onPortrait of Georg Giese byHans Holbein the Younger 190 mm × 115 mm (7.5 in × 4.5 in) |
| Second[30] | 10,000ℳ︁ | 3 Feb 1923 | Not issued | ||
| 20,000ℳ︁ | 20 Feb 1923 | .jpg) | 160 mm × 95 mm (6.3 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| 1,000,000ℳ︁ | 20 Feb 1923 | .jpg) | 160 mm × 110 mm (6.3 in × 4.3 in) | ||
| Third[31] | 5,000ℳ︁ | 15 Mar 1923 | .jpg) | Portrait of Hans Urmiller based onPortrait of Hans Urmiller and his Son byBarthel Beham 148 mm × 90 mm (5.8 in × 3.5 in) | |
| 500,000ℳ︁ | 1 May 1923 | .jpg) | 170 mm × 95 mm (6.7 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| 2,000,000ℳ︁ | 23 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | MerchantGeorg Giese based onPortrait of Georg Giese byHans Holbein the Younger 162 mm × 87 mm (6.4 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| 5,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Jun 1923 | .jpg) | 170 mm × 95 mm (6.7 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| Fourth[32] | 100,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 110 mm × 80 mm (4.3 in × 3.1 in) | |
| 500,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 175 mm × 80 mm (6.9 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 1,000,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 160 mm × 95 mm (6.3 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| 1,000,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 185 mm × 80 mm (7.3 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 5,000,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 190 mm × 80 mm (7.5 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 10,000,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 195 mm × 80 mm (7.7 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 20,000,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 195 mm × 83 mm (7.7 in × 3.3 in) | ||
| 50,000,000ℳ︁ | 25 Jul 1923 | .jpg) | 195 mm × 86 mm (7.7 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| Fifth[33] | 50,000ℳ︁ | 9 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 105 mm × 70 mm (4.1 in × 2.8 in) | |
| 200,000ℳ︁ | 9 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 115 mm × 70 mm (4.5 in × 2.8 in) | ||
| 1,000,000ℳ︁ | 9 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 120 mm × 80 mm (4.7 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 3,000,000ℳ︁ | 9 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 125 mm × 80 mm (4.9 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 5,000,000ℳ︁ | 20 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 128 mm × 80 mm (5.0 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 10,000,000ℳ︁ | 22 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 125 mm × 80 mm (4.9 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| 100,000,000ℳ︁ | 22 Aug 1923 | .jpg) | 150 mm × 85 mm (5.9 in × 3.3 in) | ||
| Sixth[34] | 20,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | 125 mm × 82 mm (4.9 in × 3.2 in) | |
| 50,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | 124 mm × 84 mm (4.9 in × 3.3 in) | ||
| 500,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | 155 mm × 85 mm (6.1 in × 3.3 in) | ||
| 500,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Sep 1923 | Specimen only | |||
| 1,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Sep 1923 | Specimen only | |||
| Seventh[34] | 1,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 5 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | Overprinted on 15 Dec 1922 note 140 mm × 90 mm (5.5 in × 3.5 in) | |
| 1,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 5 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | 160 mm × 86 mm (6.3 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| 5,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 10 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | 165 mm × 85 mm (6.5 in × 3.3 in) | ||
| 10,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 15 Sep 1923 | .jpg) | |||
| 10,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 160 mm × 105 mm (6.3 in × 4.1 in) | ||
| 20,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 140 mm × 90 mm (5.5 in × 3.5 in) | ||
| 50,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 10 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 176 mm × 86 mm (6.9 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| 200,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 15 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 140 mm × 80 mm (5.5 in × 3.1 in) | ||
| Eighth[35] | 1,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 20 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 127 mm × 61 mm (5.0 in × 2.4 in) | |
| 5,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 20 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 130 mm × 64 mm (5.1 in × 2.5 in) | ||
| 500,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 20 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | Overprinted on 15 Mar 1923 note Portrait of Hans Urmiller based onPortrait of Hans Urmiller and his Son byBarthel Beham 145 mm × 90 mm (5.7 in × 3.5 in) | ||
| Ninth[35] | 50,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 26 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 135 mm × 65 mm (5.3 in × 2.6 in) | |
| 100,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 26 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 135 mm × 65 mm (5.3 in × 2.6 in) | ||
| 500,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 26 Oct 1923 | .jpg) | 137 mm × 65 mm (5.4 in × 2.6 in) | ||
| 100,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 26 Oct 1923 | 174 mm × 86 mm (6.9 in × 3.4 in) | |||
| Tenth[36] | 1,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 137 mm × 65 mm (5.4 in × 2.6 in) | |
| 5,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 168 mm × 86 mm (6.6 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| 10,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 171 mm × 86 mm (6.7 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| 10,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 120 mm × 82 mm (4.7 in × 3.2 in) | ||
| Eleventh[37] | 100,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 5 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 135 mm × 65 mm (5.3 in × 2.6 in) | |
| 1,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 5 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 143 mm × 86 mm (5.6 in × 3.4 in) | ||
| 2,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 5 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 120 mm × 71 mm (4.7 in × 2.8 in) | ||
| 5,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 7 Nov 1923 | .jpg) | 165 mm × 86 mm (6.5 in × 3.4 in) | ||
1924 | First[37] | 10,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 1 Feb 1924 | .jpg) | 140 mm × 72 mm (5.5 in × 2.8 in) |
| 20,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 5 Feb 1924 | .jpg) | Portrait of a woman based onPortrait of a young Venetian woman byAlbrecht Dürer 160 mm × 95 mm (6.3 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| 50,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 10 Feb 1924 |  | Jakob Muffel based onPortrait of Jakob Muffel byAlbrecht Dürer 175 mm × 95 mm (6.9 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| 100,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 15 Feb 1924 | | Portrait ofWillibald Pirckheimer based on a painting byAlbrecht Dürer 180 mm × 95 mm (7.1 in × 3.7 in) | ||
| Second[38] | 5,000,000,000,000ℳ︁ | 15 Mar 1924 | .jpg) | 120 mm × 72 mm (4.7 in × 2.8 in) |
The Danziger Privat Actien-Bank (opened 1856) was the first bank established in Danzig.[39] They issued two series of notes denominated in thalers (1857 and 1862–73) prior to issuing the mark (1875, 1882, 1887).[40] These mark issues are extremely rare.[40] TheOstbank fur Handel and Gewerbe opened 16 March 1857, and by 1911 two additional banks (the Imperial Bank of Germany and the Norddeutsche Credit-Anstalt) were in operation.[41]
The Papiermark was issued by Danzig from 1914 to 1923.[42] Five series were issued during World War I by the City Council (1914, 1916, 1918 first and second issue, and 1919).[43] Denominations ranged from 10₰ to 20ℳ︁.[43] The Free City of Danzig municipal senate issued an additional four post-World War I series of notes (1922, 1923 First issue, 1923 Provisional issue, and 1923 Inflation issue).[44] The 1922 issue (31 October 1922) was denominated in 100ℳ︁, 500ℳ︁, and 1,000ℳ︁ notes.[45] The denominations for the 1923 issue were 1,000ℳ︁ (15 March 1923), and 10,000ℳ︁ and 50,000ℳ︁ notes (20 March 1923).[46] The 1923 provisional issue reused earlier notes with a large red stamp indicating the new (and higher) denominations of 1 million-ℳ︁ (8 August 1923) and 5 million-ℳ︁ (15 October 1923) mark.[47] The last series of Danzig mark was the 1923 inflation issue of 1 million-ℳ︁ (8 August 1923), 10 million-ℳ︁ (31 August 1923), 100 million-ℳ︁ (22 September 1923), 500 million-ℳ︁ (26 September 1923), 5 billion-ℳ︁ and 10 billion-ℳ︁ notes (11 October 1923).[48] The Danzig mark was replaced by theDanzig gulden, first issued by the Danzig Central Finance Department on 22 October 1923.[48]
| Issue | Value | Image |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 Emergency | 50₰ | .jpg) |
| 1ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 2ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 3ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 1916 | 10₰ | .jpg) |
| 50₰ | .jpg) | |
| 1918 First | 5ℳ︁ | .jpg) |
| 20ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 1918 Second | 50₰ | .jpg) |
| 20ℳ︁ | ||
1919 | 50₰ | .jpg) |
| 1922 | 100ℳ︁ | .jpg) |
| 500ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 1,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 1923 First | 1,000ℳ︁ | |
| 10,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 10,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 50,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 1923 Provisional | 1,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) |
| 5,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 1923 Inflation | 1,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) |
| 10,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 100,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 500,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 5,000,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) | |
| 10,000,000,000ℳ︁ | .jpg) |
In German,Milliarde is 1,000,000,000, or one thousand million, whileBillion is 1,000,000,000,000, or one million million.
| Preceded by: Goldmark | Currency ofGermany 1914 – 1923 | Succeeded by: Rentenmark Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 Rentenmark = 1,000,000,000 Papiermark, and 4.2 Rentenmark = US$1 |
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