Rentenmark

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First issuing office of Rentenmark Notes on Oberwallstrasse in Berlin on November 15, 1923
1 pension penny from 1923
2 pension pennies from 1923
10 pension pfennig from 1924

The pension Mark was 1923-1948 a mortgage-based transitional currency in Germany .

origin

The German inflation from 1914 to 1923 had successively not classified in Kurantmünzen held on Mark -denominated money reserves are almost completely worthless leave. Although the mark was introduced in 1871 as the gold-backed currency of the German Reich, the gold backing was canceled in 1914; the " gold mark " became the paper mark . The depreciation of the mark turned into hyperinflation in its final phase and increasingly paralyzed economic life. From autumn 1923 onwards, agricultural and industrial producers increasingly refused to sell goods in exchange for paper pulp, which was becoming worthless more and more quickly. Rioting and looting broke out in some parts of Germany.

In the summer of 1923, attempts were made to curb inflation with so-called “stable-value paper emergency money ” - also known as the treasury note - with “gold marks” and “gold dollars” printed on them. However, this attempt failed.

On the basis of the ordinance on the establishment of the Deutsche Rentenbank of October 15, 1923 ( RGBl . IS 963–966), the Deutsche Rentenbank was founded in October 1923. In favor of Deutsche Rentenbank properties from agriculture, industry and commerce were forcibly with mortgages and mortgages occupied. These real assets had not suffered from hyperinflation. The total amount of mortgages and land charges amounted to over 3.2 billion marks in gold ("Goldmark"). For the equivalent of the real estate, the Deutsche Rentenbank issued interest-bearing Rentenbank letters for 500 gold marks or a multiple thereof.

The German Rentenbank issued the first new banknotes dated November 1, 1923 around November 20, as well as new Rentenpfennig coins dated 1923, parallel to the high billion and trillion paper mark denominations in circulation and the smaller numbers stable value emergency banknotes. The abbreviation for the new currency was "Rent.M". Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht and Reich Chancellor Gustav Stresemann had a decisive influence on the introduction . The Rentenmark was “not a legal tender, but a bearer bond of the Rentenbank” (according to Büsch). The exchange rate to the paper mark was set at 1: 1 trillion on November 20, 1923, by the Reichsbank, when the exchange rate was 4.2 trillion paper marks = 1 US dollar , which was the pre-war gold mark parity with the gold dollar. Since the Rentenmark was not a legal tender , there was no legal obligation to accept it as a means of payment (although all public coffers had to accept it). Nevertheless, it was immediately accepted by the population. Inflation therefore stopped suddenly; there was talk of the miracle of the Rentenmark .

The "coverage" of the Rentenmark by land contributed significantly to the acceptance. But this was pure fiction; the Rentenmark remained stable in value only because it was kept tight.

history

"Rentenbank note" from 1937

On August 30, 1924, the Reichsmark was introduced in addition to the Rentenmark. It was valid at a ratio of 1: 1 to the Rentenmark. The Reichsmark did not replace the Rentenmark, as wrongly stated in many half-timbered works and documents. Rather, payments could still be made with both currencies. The main difference between the two currencies was their different coverage. With the introduction of the Reichsmark, the use of the designation "Rentenmark" - despite the fact that both were in circulation - was forbidden by law in all official documents. German sovereignty symbols are not shown on any Rentenbank note.

The Rentenbank continued to exist beyond 1924 and the issued Rentenmark denominations remained in circulation. The last Rentenmark notes for 1 and 2 Rentenmark, dated January 30, 1937, were issued on September 5, 1939 and were valid in all Allied occupation zones until the currency reforms in 1948. Originally, the Rentenmark was to be completely replaced by the Reichsmark by 1934 at the latest.

Since Rentenmark and Reichsmark had practically the same abbreviation "RM", there was no reason to abolish the Rentenmark in favor of the Reichsmark and to withdraw the circulating Rentenmark banknotes consistently. Evidently they also shied away from creating renewed unrest in the population, which the hyperinflation of 1922–1923 still remembered.

Alternative approaches

A theoretical, unrealized forerunner of the Rentenmark to stop hyperinflation was the so-called “ rye mark”, which, according to Karl Helfferich , should have its cover in rye. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had almost no gold left. Another approach was potash salt . Another thought was the creation of a "Bodenmark" based on the proposal of Hans Luther , which was largely identical to the newly created Rentenmark. But all these thoughts were rejected. Ultimately, starting in November 1923, the first physical Rentenmarkscheine and Rentenpfennigcoins were put into circulation. For the practical success of the Rentenmark, in addition to stopping the banknote printing press, the trust of the people and an initially balanced state budget were decisive.

effect

In contrast to the inflation-shattered paper mark, the Rentenmark met with great confidence in the general public. The most important property of the Rentenmark was not the fact that it was tied to land (in a rather theoretical way), but that its total volume was strictly limited: Rentenmark notes were issued to the value of 2.4 billion Reichsmarks (then 600 million dollars) , despite political pressure, Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht refused to subsequently increase the amount. The goal was to make money scarce and valuable again in Germany.

Rentenmark banknotes from November 1923

  • 1 Rentenmark

  • 2 Rentenmarks

  • 5 Rentenmarks

  • 10 Rentenmarks

  • 100 Rentenmarks

  • 1,000 Rentenmarks

literature

  • Wilfrid Baumgartner : Le Rentenmark (October 15, 1923 - October 11, 1924) (French). Presses Universitaires de France , 1925.
  • Carl Schaeffer, Heinrich Brode (Hrsg.): Allgemeine Volkswirtschaftslehre (= outline of private and public law and economics. Vol. 16). 13-17 completely reworked edition. Verlag CL Hirschfeld, Leipzig 1927.
  • Heinrich Quante u. a .: Büsch Handels = Lexicon. Edition in one volume. Book publisher of the union federation of employees, Berlin a. a. Leipzig 1925.
  • Gustav Stolper : German Economy 1870-1940. Empire - Republic - Third Reich. Franz Mittelbach Verlag, Stuttgart 1950.

Web links

Commons : Rentenmark banknotes of the Weimar Republic  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Rentenmark  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wikisource: Rentenmark  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Photography of the RGBl. on 1000Dokumente.de , accessed on August 17, 2018
  2. ^ Establishment of the Deutsche Rentenbank
  3. ↑ Manfred Borchert: Money and Credit. Introduction to monetary theory and monetary policy , Oldenbourg, Munich 2003, ISBN 978-3-48627-420-2 , p. 12.
  4. ↑ So z. B. Ulrich van Suntum : The Invisible Hand: Economic Thinking Yesterday and Today , 2nd edition 2000, ISBN 978-3-54041-003-4 , p. 141 ; Manfred Borchert: Money and Credit. Introduction to Monetary Theory and Policy , Oldenbourg, 2003, p. 12.
  5. ↑ Liaquat Ahamed : The Lords of Money. How four bankers sparked the Great Depression and drove the world into bankruptcy. FinanzBook-Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-89879-578-4 , p. 209.