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2 Deutsche Mark
| Issuer | Deutsche Rentenbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Mark (2 DDM) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Rentenbankſchein Zwei Rentenmark Ausgegeben auf Grund der Verordnung vom 15. Oktober 1923 (R.-G.-Bl. I S. 963) BERLIN, den 30. Januar 1937. Deutſche Rentenbank Präſident und Vorſtand: |
| Reverse description | The reverse carries the same Gothic blackletter text as the original 1937 Rentenbankschein printing, set within a fine guilloche border and underprint in brown tones. The inscription reiterates the statutory basis and issuing authority of the Deutsche Rentenbank, with the denomination and date rendered in the same intaglio blackletter style as the obverse. No additional overprint or coupon is applied to this side. |
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| Comments |
The Deutsche Rentenbank was not a central bank but an agricultural credit institution, yet it found itself issuing emergency currency in the immediate postwar period because no proper monetary authority yet existed in the Western occupation zones. These 2 Mark notes were part of the June 1948 currency reform that replaced the Reichsmark — one of the most abrupt monetary transitions in modern European history, executed over a single weekend.
Each household received a per-capita allowance of 40 Deutsche Mark in the new currency; businesses received small operational floats. The reform instantly drained black markets and restocked shop shelves within days, which contemporaries found almost surreal after years of scarcity.
Print run of just over 12 million is modest relative to higher denominations in the same series.