150 years ago the German Reich introduced the mark as a single currency. It enabled Germany to participate in the first great wave of globalization – before it was then destroyed twice.
from
Nicholas Piper
The new German currency was a fruit of the war. After the victory of Prussia and its allies in the Franco-German war, the defeated France had to undertake in the Peace of Frankfurt on May 10, 1871, to pay reparations of five billion gold francs to the newly founded German Reich. That corresponded to 1450 tons of fine gold. A good six months later, on December 4, 1871, the Reichstag in Berlin passed a new coin law. This made the mark the national currency. And that should be covered by gold, which was only possible thanks to the French reparations. The law came into force in July 1873. From then on, the Germans paid with money called “Mark” for 128 years: in the German Empire, in the Weimar Republic, in the Nazi dictatorship, in the Federal Republic, in the GDR and also in the unified Germany. The currency’s career did not end until January 1, 2002, when euro cash was introduced in Germany and other European countries.