German Mark

The Deutsche Mark (DEM), also known as the "German mark", was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until 2002. It was first issued under Allied occupation in 1948 to replace the Reichsmark, and served as the Federal Republic of Germany's official currency from its founding the following year. In English, the Deutsche Mark was abbreviated "DM". The Mark was divided into 100 Pfennig (German plural: Pfennige) and was issued in denominations of DM1, DM2, DM5, DM10, DM20, DM50 and DM100. In addition to the Mark, coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 Pfennig. The first West German coins were issued in 1948 in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 Pfennig. In 1957, 5, 10 and 25 Mark coins were introduced, followed by 1 Mark coins in 1958. In 1969, a 20 Mark coin was introduced, followed by 50 Mark coins in 1977. The 5, 10 and 20 Mark coins were made of cupronickel, whilst the 50 Mark, 1 and 2 Mark coins were made of aluminium-bronze. The 1 and 2 Mark coins were scalloped in shape, whilst the 5, 10, 20 and 50 Mark coins were round with plain edges. All coins depicted the state title "Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (Federal Republic of Germany) and the date. The obverse of the coins depicted a Bundesadler (German eagle), whilst the reverse depicted the value of the coin in words (e.g. "EIN MARK") and the date. In 1990, following the reunification of Germany, the Mark was replaced by the Deutsche Mark (DM) at a rate of 1 DM = 1.95583 Mark. This rate applied until the introduction of the euro in 2002, when 1 euro = 1.95583 DM.