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5 Deutsche Mark
| Issuer | Deutsche Bundesbank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1960-1980 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Deutsche Mark (1948-2001) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown, green, and yellow multicolour print with black overprint. The central vignette presents an oak (Quercus) branch bearing seven leaves and three acorns, a traditional German national symbol. The circular seal of the Deutsche Bundesbank appears to the right, set against a finely engraved guilloche background. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The P#18 five-mark note was the longest-running denomination in the first Bundesbank series, remaining in circulation from 1960 until the early 1980s — an unusual lifespan reflecting both the note's durability and the West German central bank's reluctance to redesign low-denomination paper unnecessarily. Hermann Eidenbenz, the Swiss typographer responsible for the series' visual grammar, brought a disciplined modernist restraint to the designs that was quite deliberately unlike the figurative traditions of Weimar-era German currency.
Bundesdruckerei's printing quality on this series is well-documented, but the P#18 is particularly prone to heavy soiling along the fold lines due to its intensive daily use as the smallest circulating note — fine examples are harder to locate than the scarcity figures suggest.