German mark (1871)

The introduction of the German mark in 1873 was the culmination of decades-long efforts to unify the various currencies used by the German Confederation. The Zollverein unified in 1838 the Prussian and South German currencies at a fixed rate of 1 Prussian thaler = South German gulden = 16.704 g fine silver. A larger currency convention in 1857 replaced the Prussian thaler with the Vereinsthaler of g fine silver, equivalent to 1 North German thaler, Austro-Hungarian florins, or South German gulden. Unification to this system proceeded further due to German Unification in 1871 as well as monetary conventions from 1865 to 1870 expressing a desire to move to the gold standard. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, payments of reparations were officially abandoned. West Germany after World War II did not resume payment of reparations as such, but did resume the payment of debt that Germany had acquired in the inter-war period to finance its reparation payments, paying off the principal on those debts by 1980. The interest on those debts was paid off on 3 October 2010, the 20th anniversary of German reunification. ==Coins==

Coins of denominations between 1 pfennig and 1 mark were issued in standard designs for the whole empire, whilst those above 1 mark were issued by the individual states, using a standard design for the reverses (the , the eagle insignia of the German Empire) with a design specific to the state on the obverse, generally a portrait of the monarch of the kingdom or duchy (and not that of the emperor); while the free cities of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck each used the city's coat of arms. Occasionally commemorative coins were minted, in which cases the obverse and (much more rarely) the reverse designs might depart from the usual pictorial standards. Many of the smaller states issued coins in very small numbers. Also, in general all states' coinage became very limited after the First World War began. Well-preserved examples of such low-mintage coins can be rare and valuable. The Principality of Lippe was the only state not to issue any gold coins in this period. Base metal coins • 1 pfennig (copper: 1873–1916, aluminium: 1916–1918) • 2 pfennig (copper: 1873–1916) • 5 pfennig (cupro-nickel: 1873–1915, iron: 1915–1922) • 10 pfennig (cupro-nickel: 1873–1916, iron and zinc: 1915–1922) • 20 pfennig (cupro-nickel, 1887–1892) • 25 pfennig (nickel, 1909–1912) Silver coins Subsidiary silver coins were minted in .900 fineness to a standard of 5 grams silver per mark. Production of 2 and 5 mark coins ceased in 1915 while 1-mark coins continued to be issued until 1916. A few 3 mark coins were minted until 1918, and mark coins continued to be issued in silver until 1919. • 20 pfennig, 1.1111 g (1 g silver), only until 1878 • mark or 50 pfennig, 2.7778 g (2.5 g silver) • 1 mark, 5.5555 g (5 g silver) • 2 mark, 11.1111 g (10 g silver) • 3 mark, 16.6667 g (15 g silver), from 1908 onwards • 5 mark, 27.7778 g (25 g silver) These silver coins are token or subsidiary currency for the gold mark and are therefore legal tender only up to 20 marks. However, all silver 3-mark s issued before 1871 enjoyed unlimited legal tender status even after the switch-over to the gold standard. This ended with the demonetization of the in 1908 and the introduction of the new subsidiary 3-mark coins. The 5-mark coin, however, was significantly closer in value to older thalers (and other such crown-sized coins). Gold coins Gold coins were minted in .900 fineness to a standard of 2,790 mark = 1 kilogram of gold (a mark was therefore about of gold; a troy ounce of gold was worth 86.78 ℳ︁). Gold coin production ceased in 1915. 5-mark gold coins were minted only in 1877 and 1878. • 5 mark, 1.9912 g (1.7921 g gold) • 10 mark, 3.9825 g (3.5842 g gold) • 20 mark, 7.965 g (7.1685 g gold) The 20 mark is the most seen and offers a variety of different types that were mass-produced and therefore can be purchased at a low premium above each coin's melt value. However, some designs are extremely elusive given that they were struck in very low mintages. The rarest type features Adolph Friedrich V with just 1,160 pieces issued by the Berlin Mint. ==Banknotes==

Banknotes were issued by the Imperial Treasury (known as "Reichskassenschein") and the Reichsbank, as well as by the banks of some of the states. Imperial Treasury notes were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 Mark, whilst Reichsbank notes were produced in denominations of 20, 50, 100 and 1000 Mark. The notes issued after 1914 are referred to as Papiermark. ==Currency signs==

In Unicode, the Mark sign is . The Pfennig is . ==Notes==