The
Rentenmark (literally, "
SecurityA security is a fungible, negotiable instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into debt securities ; equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and derivative contracts, such as forwards, futures, options and swaps. The company or other entity issuing the security...
Mark") (
RM) was a
currencyIn economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
issued on 15 November 1923 to stop the
hyperinflationIn economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or "out of control", a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value....
of 1922 and 1923 in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It was subdivided into 100
Rentenpfennig.
The Rentenmark replaced the
PapiermarkThe name Papiermark 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...
. Due to the economic crises in Germany after the Great War there was no
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
available to back the currency. Therefore the Rentenbank, which issued the Rentenmark, mortgaged land and industrial goods worth 3.2
billion1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 10
9....
Rentenmark to back the new currency.
The
Rentenmark (literally, "
SecurityA security is a fungible, negotiable instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into debt securities ; equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and derivative contracts, such as forwards, futures, options and swaps. The company or other entity issuing the security...
Mark") (
RM) was a
currencyIn economics, the term currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example the US dollar, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
issued on 15 November 1923 to stop the
hyperinflationIn economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or "out of control", a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value....
of 1922 and 1923 in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. It was subdivided into 100
Rentenpfennig.
History
The Rentenmark replaced the
PapiermarkThe name Papiermark 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...
. Due to the economic crises in Germany after the Great War there was no
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
available to back the currency. Therefore the Rentenbank, which issued the Rentenmark, mortgaged land and industrial goods worth 3.2
billion1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 10
9....
Rentenmark to back the new currency. The Rentenmark was introduced at a rate 1 Rentenmark = 1:10
12 Papiermark, establishing an exchange rate of 1
United States dollarThe United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
= 4.2 RM.
The Rentenmark was only an intermediate currency and was not legal tender. It was, however, accepted by the population and effectively stopped the inflation. The
ReichsmarkThe Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
became the new legal tender on 30 August 1924, equal in value to the Rentenmark.
The monetary policy spearheaded by
Hjalmar SchachtDr. Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht was the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank under the Weimar Republic, and President of the Reichsbank between 1933 and 1939...
—the Central Banker—together with the fiscal policy of
German Chancellor Gustav Stresemannwas a German liberal politician and statesman who served as Chancellor and Foreign Minister during the Weimar Republic. He was co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926.Stresemann's politics defy easy categorization...
and
Finance MinisterThe finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...
Hans LutherHans Luther was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany.-Biography:Born in Berlin, Luther started in politics in 1907 by becoming the town councillor in Magdeburg. He continued on becoming secretary of the German Städtetag in 1913 and then mayor of Essen in 1918...
brought the inflation in Germany to an end.
The Rentenbank continued to exist after 1924 and the notes and coins continued to circulate. The last Rentenmark notes were valid until 1948.
Coins
Coins were issued dated 1923, 1924 and 1925 in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 Rentenpfennig. Only small numbers of Rentenpfennig coins were produced in 1925. A few 1 Rentenpfennig coins were struck dated 1929. The 1 and 2 Rentenpfennig were minted in
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
, with the remaining coins in aluminium-bronze.
Banknotes
The first issue of banknotes was dated November 1, 1923, and was in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 Rentenmark. Later issues of notes were 10 and 50 Rentenmark (1925), 5 Rentenmark (1926), 50 Rentenmark (1934) and 1 and 2 Rentenmark and dated 1937.
Currencies of Germany
External links