Deutsche Mark
Deutsche Mark: a historical unit of account.
- Dates in use
- Introduction and ending not established
- Ancestry branch
- Prussian thaler
Its place in the family
All ancestors and descendants ↗Parents 2
Deutsche Mark
This currencyTrace its ancestry backward
Deutsche Mark
1 later contribution joined this currency. See those connections →
German mark
Other founding predecessors: South German florin (Documented). Explore every incoming path →
2 later contributions joined this currency. See those connections →
Prussian thaler
Earlier ancestry is not established here.
The story
The surviving evidence establishes this unit of account, but a fuller narrative is still being developed. Its known connections are shown above; the research page documents what is established and what remains uncertain.
Turning points
Multiple currency unification
Deutsche Mark displaced Reichsmark in western Germany under differentiated conversion rules. No universal 10:1 factor; ongoing payments and financial holdings received different treatment. [1]
Multiple currency unification
The western reform also invalidated Rentenmark notes. [2]
Multiple currency unification
Allied military marks also ceased validity in the western currency reform. [3]
Euro monetary substitution
1 EUR = 1.95583 DEM. Germany: euro adoption 1999-01-01; cash 2002-01-01. Regulation 974/98 substitutes the euro for each participating state’s currency on its adoption date; cash changeover is separately defined. [4] [5] [6]
National cash last legal tender day
German-mark legal tender ended on 31 December 2001; voluntary retail/banking acceptance continued through 28 February 2002. [7]
Euro cash changeover
Germany: euro adoption 1999-01-01; cash 2002-01-01. [5]
Sources and evidence
- Deutsche Bundesbank · The circulation of Deutsche Mark — from currency reform to European monetary union, March 2002; Deutsche Bundesbank · Dates of German monetary policy — detailed version C888 ↗
- Deutsche Bundesbank · The circulation of Deutsche Mark — from currency reform to European monetary union, March 2002 C889 ↗
- Deutsche Bundesbank · The circulation of Deutsche Mark — from currency reform to European monetary union, March 2002 C890 ↗
- Council of the European Union · Council Regulation (EC) 2866/98 — consolidation at 1 January 2026 C666 ↗
- Council of the European Union · Council Regulation (EC) 974/98 — consolidation at 1 January 2026 C667 ↗
- Council of the European Union · Council Regulation (EC) 974/98 — consolidation at 1 January 2026 C646 ↗
- European Commission, Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs · Germany and the euro C704 ↗
Open the complete research record →
Full claims, evidence coverage, corrections and earlier interpretations are kept separately.
Cite this page
“Deutsche Mark.” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v44. https://familytreeofmoney.org/currency/FTM000312.html