Oddities
Old bills in circulation: the chest of drawers turns out to be a D-Mark safe
In 2001/2002, euro cash replaced the D-Mark as the official means of payment. But the old currency has not completely disappeared even twenty years later. Chance finds often bring joy.
Twenty years after the introduction of euro cash, a furniture donation to an animal welfare association turns out to be a D-Mark treasure. The non-profit organization from the Leipzig area inherited an old chest of drawers.
Years later, while taking the piece of furniture apart, employees discovered the proud sum of 27,700 marks (around 14,163 euros). Maybe the deceased had forgotten the money, but maybe he wanted to send the money to the association in this unusual way.
“Classic chance find”
Bundesbank board member Johannes Beermann speaks of a “classic chance find”: “You have a piece of furniture that actually turns out to be a safe.” D-Mark stocks in the billions are still slumbering in drawers, between the pages of a book, in shopping bags or hidden under mattresses and in cupboards.
This year, until the end of November, bills and coins worth 43.1 million marks (around 22 million euros) were exchanged at the Deutsche Bundesbank. The total value of the holdings that have not yet been returned amounts to 12.35 billion marks. These are banknotes worth a good 5.75 billion marks and coins with a volume of around 6.6 billion marks. This corresponds to 163.8 million notes and more than 23 billion coins, which also include the 10-mark special coins.
For comparison: immediately before the introduction of euro cash at the end of 2001, 162 billion marks were still in circulation, 150 billion marks of which were in banknotes. The vast majority of the stocks were exchanged around the introduction of the new euro notes and coins.
A bicycle and 150 D-Marks
Nevertheless, Deutsche Mark treasures are discovered by chance time and again, also by burglars. A man from Hennef near Bonn got into his neighbor’s house. He not only let a bicycle go with him, but also 150 D-Marks, which he exchanged at the Bundesbank before he was caught.
“In the more than 30 Bundesbank branches, even 20 years after the introduction of euro cash, unlimited D-Marks are exchanged for euros,” affirmed Beermann. “This makes Germany one of six countries in the euro area in which the national currency can be exchanged for an unlimited period of time.” However, many people in Germany were not aware of this possibility. The exchange rate is unchanged: You get one euro for 1.95583 Deutschmarks.
100 and 1000-mark bills in particular are still being bunkered in the billions: According to the information, 17.1 million hundreds worth 1.71 billion D-Marks have not yet been returned. In the thousands there are 1.1 million pieces worth 1.12 billion marks. Together they make up 49 percent of the value of the outstanding notes.
In the meantime, however, the Bundesbank has noticed a significant decline in the number of exchanges. “The curve goes down further and further and, in my opinion, will not rise again,” said Beermann. “The finds are becoming rarer and the people are coming less often.”
Due to Corona: exchange not possible at times
According to the central bank, the disproportionately strong decline in 2020 and 2021 is primarily due to the general restrictions as a result of the corona pandemic, which also affected the Bundesbank branches. For example, it was not possible to exchange D-Marks on site at times. Bills and coins could only be submitted by post. In the current year alone, the number of exchanges decreased by around a quarter by the end of November compared to the same period in the previous year.
However, some of the old notes and coins should never be returned – partly because collectors have secured them. According to the Bundesbank, there are also significant D-Mark holdings abroad, as the Mark was a popular reserve currency used around the world.