Creator1930's German TreasuryBrowse TopicGovernment and PoliticsSubjectCurrency - GermanyWorld War II (1939-1945)World War II ArtifactsNazi Germany and the HolocaustDescriptionThe Rentenmark was a form of currency issued by the German government on January 30, 1937 in order to attempt to stop the country’s hyperinflation. In August 1923, when the hyperinflation was at an all-time high, Germany’s cabinet was taken over by Gustav Stresemann, and Hans Luther became Minister of Finance. The new Rentenmark replaced the Papiermark because there was no gold in the treasury to back up the currency. Hans Luther developed a system in which the currency was backed by actual goods instead of gold. The Rentenmark was backed by land used for business and agriculture (which is one of the reasons that pictures of goods and land can be seen on the reverse side of the notes). It was introduced with a rate of one Rentenmark to one trillion of the previous German marks and a rate of 4.2 Rentenmarks to one U.S. dollar. These were the legal tender in Germany until they were replaced by the Reichsmark in 1924, but they continued to circulate and were acceptable forms of currency until 1948. The banknotes were issued in values of: 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000. Source: Pick, Albert. 1994. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer, eds. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, (7th ed.). Iola, WI: Krause Publications. Date Original1937Date Range1930s (1930-1939)1940s (1940-1949)TypePhysical ObjectOriginal FormatCurrencyLanguageGermanContributing InstitutionMartin-Springer InstituteCollectionArtifacts from the Holocaust and Nazi GermanyRights StatementAll images in this collection are the propoerty of the Martin-Springer Institute. For reproduction and re-use contact the Martin-Springer Institute at 928-523-2464.
