Rentenmark note

Rentenmark notes were paper currency issued in Weimar Germany by the Rentenbank, which was established on 15 October 1923 under emergency legislation. Introduced alongside the old currency on 15 November 1923 to bring an end to the severe hyperinflation of 1922 and 1923, they served to replace the virtually worthless Papiermark.

Devised under a monetary stabilisation plan by Finance Minister Hans Luther and managed by Currency Commissioner Hjalmar Schacht, the currency was converted at a rate of one Rentenmark to one trillion old paper marks, establishing an exchange rate of 4.2 Rentenmarks to the United States dollar. The volume of notes was strictly limited to 3.2 billion marks and supported by biannual property payments. Although the gold-backed Reichsmark became Germany's new legal tender on 30 August 1924 at equal value, Rentenmark banknotes continued to circulate and remained valid until 1948.

The initial series of Rentenmark banknotes was dated 1 November 1923 and appeared in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 Rentenmarks. The Rentenbank subsequently produced further issues in selected denominations over the following years. These later releases comprised 10 and 50 Rentenmark notes dated 1925, a 5 Rentenmark note dated 1926, a 50 Rentenmark note dated 1934, and low-value 1 and 2 Rentenmark notes dated 1937.