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Old bills and coins: D-Mark worth millions exchanged

More than 20 years after the introduction of euro notes and coins, not all deutschmarks have been exchanged. Billions worth of bills and coins in the old currency are still in circulation.

The photo.aussiedlerbote.de
The photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Turn of the year - Old bills and coins: D-Mark worth millions exchanged

People in Baden-Württemberg have exchanged 7.9 million Deutschmarks for euros so far this year. This was reported by the Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt/Main. Between January and November 2023, there were 12,651 exchanges in which a total of 4 million euros were paid out. In the same period last year, 6.6 million Deutschmarks were exchanged for 3.3 million euros in the southwest.

Nationwide, the Deutsche Bundesbank has exchanged more than 53 million Deutschmarks for euros so far this year. This is the second time in a row that the volume has risen slightly compared to the previous year. In 2022, the figure was 49 million marks. "We expect a lot of Deutschmarks to be exchanged in the coming years as well," Bundesbank board member Burkhard Balz told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Especially when clearing out inherited houses and apartments, D-Mark will probably still be found."

Almost 22 years after the introduction of euro cash, billions worth of D-Mark bills and coins have not yet been returned. According to the Deutsche Bundesbank, the total outstanding value at the end of November was just under 12.2 billion marks (around 6.24 billion euros). "I am always impressed by how many Deutschmarks have not yet found their way back to the Bundesbank, even in the third decade after the national currency was replaced by the euro," said Balz. The vast majority of D-Mark holdings were exchanged around the time of the introduction of the new euro bills and coins at the turn of the year 2001/2002.

The central bank also believes that some of the old money is located outside Germany. Consumers can exchange D-Mark bills andcoins free of charge for an unlimited period of time at all 31 branches of the Deutsche Bundesbank or by post via the Bundesbank branch in Mainz. The exchange rate remains unchanged: One euro can be exchanged for 1.95583 Deutschmarks. In Austria and Ireland as well as in the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, it is also possible to exchange the old national currency for euros for an unlimited period.

Bundesbank on DM circulation ECB on the exchange of national cash

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Source: www.stern.de

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