German currency before the introduction of the euro

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

As you know, the single currency of the European Union was introduced as a unit of account in 1999, and on January 1, 2002, the euro was launched into cash circulation in the form of paper notes and coins. It replaced the ECU, which was used in Germany and other European countries from 1979 to 1998. The ECU was exchanged for the euro at a rate of 1 to 1. What other currencies were there in Germany?

Deutsche mark

Germany is one of the leaders of the European Union in terms of living standards and the size of the national economy. Many rightly refer this country to one of the locomotives of the EU. For the past 16 years, Germany has been using the single European monetary unit - the euro. Nevertheless, until now, many German citizens keep samples of the German mark. According to some reports, there are now about 13 billion of this currency in Germany, which is equivalent to 6.7 billion euros.

Even for such a highly developed country economically, this is a very decent amount. Sociology shows that the majority of Germans continue to keep the brand, guided by nostalgic feelings. Those in Germany are approximately 74% of the number of respondents. On thein fact, to understand the uniqueness of the German mark and the nature of the love for it on the part of the citizens of Germany, it is necessary to turn to the history of this currency.

The History of the German Mark

For the first time, the brand began to be used on the territory of modern Germany in the Middle Ages, namely in the 16th century. Then the German lands were part of the Holy Roman Empire, in which many different monetary units were in circulation. The main of them was considered a pound, consisting of twenty shillings. One shilling included twelve pfennigs.

At the same time, the pound was a rather bulky coin, which was not always convenient to use. Because of this, half a pound was put into circulation on the territory of the state, which later became known as the “mark”. In addition to the brand, such monetary units as gulden, thaler, kreuzer, groshen and some others were used in circulation.

The German mark became the single currency of Germany in 1871 after the formation of the German Empire. This monetary unit consisted of one hundred pfennigs and was used throughout the territory of the new state entity, as well as beyond.

Deutsmark in the 20th century

Difficult times for the German currency came during the existence of the Weimar Republic from 1919 to 1933. The defeat in the First World War and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles led to the deepest financial, economic and social crisis in the German state. According to the peace agreement, Germany was obliged to paymulti-million dollar contribution. The financial system of the state could not withstand the huge inflation, and the mark devalued so quickly that many trade relations in the country were reduced to barter.

Nevertheless, the young state was able to withstand and overcome all the difficulties of that time. Already in the mid-20s of the last century, a new monetary unit, the Reichsmark, was introduced into circulation, which existed as the currency of Germany until 1948.

German money in the second half of the 20th century

One of the results of the Second World War was the division of Germany into two separate states: the FRG and the GDR. In the first one, the German mark of the FRG (Deuteche Mark) was put into circulation, and in the second - the German mark of the GDR (Deuteche Mark DDR). These two currencies were in circulation until 2002 and 1990 respectively.

The mark of the federal republic gradually strengthened and in a decade it was one of the most stable and popular monetary units in the world. Many even outside Germany preferred to keep their savings in this currency. West Germans were proud of their currency. And this is logical. For many, and not only in the country itself, the German economic breakthrough of the 1950s was associated primarily with the mark, which was the currency of Germany before the euro.