Banknotes
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Old Rentenmark and Reichsmark notes then in circulation in the Soviet occupation zone had adhesive stamps affixed in June 1948 to extend their validity while new banknotes were being printed (see Currency reform above). These notes were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Deutsche Mark. Colloquially, these reissued banknotes were referred to as Klebemark ("sticker marks") or Kuponmark ("coupon marks"). | |
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The reissued Reichsmark and Rentenmark banknotes with adhesive stamps were replaced by newly-designed banknotes on 24 July 1948, in denominations of 50 Deutsche Pfennig, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 1000 Deutsche Mark von der Deutschen Notenbank (DM). | |
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A second issue of 1955 contained the denominations 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Deutsche Mark von der Deutschen Notenbank. | |
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In 1964, the government issued a new series of banknotes in denominations 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Mark der Deutschen Notenbank (MDN). Upon their issuance, the Series 1948 and 1955 banknotes were withdrawn from circulation. | |
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The final series of East German banknotes carried dates of 1971 or 1975 and were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Mark der DDR (M). Upon their issuance, the Series 1964 MDN banknotes were gradually withdrawn from circulation. The 5 MDN banknote was the last to be withdrawn, in 1981. |
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On the violet 5-Mark note is a picture of Thomas Müntzer, an early Reformation-era German pastor who was a rebel leader during the German Peasants' War. The reverse shows several harvesting machines, which was meant to highlight the importance of agriculture in the "Workers and Farmers State" (Arbeiter- und Bauernstaat) that the GDR proclaimed itself to be. |
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On the orange 10-Mark note is a picture of Clara Zetkin, an early German Communist and women's rights advocate. The reverse shows a female engineer sitting at a control console inside the Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant, which has been put into operation in 1966. |
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On the green 20-Mark note is a picture of the author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The reverse shows several young children exiting a school, meant to emphasize the importance of education in the GDR. |
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On the red 50-Mark note is a picture of Friedrich Engels, the co-founder of Marxist theory. The reverse shows an industrial complex like those in the PCK Raffinerie in Schwedt. The confusion of pipes and smokestacks in the chemical plants and power stations highlighted the importance of industry in the GDR. |
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The highest valued and best known of the notes distributed by the Staatsbank der DDR was the 100-Mark denomination. The blue note shows Karl Marx on the front, and the back displays the Palast der Republik as seen from the Unter den Linden boulevard in East Berlin. In the background, the Berlin TV tower, the red city hall (Rathaus), and the Zeughaus (Arsenal) can be seen. The combination of science, politics, business, and people was intended to honor the socialist system and to show the GDR as a progressive and modern country. |
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The Staatsbank der DDR (State Bank of the GDR) had planned to issue 200- and 500-Mark notes. The notes were, in fact, printed in 1971 and in 1984 as a preparation, but were never circulated. A few examples are held by collectors.
These notes differed from the lower-denomination notes in that they did not have a personality on the obverse. The 200-Mark note had on its front a family with two children in front of a modern GDR high-rise apartment building. The back pictured a schoolyard with eight children and a teacher. The watermark was a dove of peace. On the 500-Mark note, the front showed the coat-of-arms of the GDR (hammer and a compass in a wreath), while the back showed the State Council (Staatsrat) building of the GDR in Berlin. |
Read more about this topic: East German Mark