Reichsmark

Reichsmark
2 ℛℳ—coin with Paul von Hindenburg 5 ℛℳ—banknote with a German youth
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	Reichspfennig
Plural	Reichsmark
Reichspfennig	Reichspfennig
Symbol	ℛℳ
Banknotes	5 ℛℳ, 10 ℛℳ, 20 ℛℳ, 50 ℛℳ, 100 ℛℳ, 1000 ℛℳ
Coins	1 rpf, 2 rpf, 5 rpf, 10 rpf, 50 rpf, 1 ℛℳ, 2 ℛℳ, 5 ℛℳ
Demographics
User(s)	Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany  Allied-occupied Germany
Issuance
Central bank	Reichsbank
Valuation
Pegged by	Belgian franc, Bohemian and Moravian koruna, Bulgarian lev, Danish krone, French franc, Italian lira, Luxembourg franc, Dutch gulden, Norwegian krone, Polish złoty, Serbian dinar, Slovak koruna, Ukrainian karbovanets in World War II as similar rates
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

10 Reichspfennig

Nazi Germany
Value	10 Reichspfennig
Mass	3.52 g
Diameter	21 mm
Thickness	1.5 mm
Edge	Plain
Composition	100% Zn
Years of minting	1940-1945
Obverse
Design	Reichsadler with swastika. Lettering: Deutsches Reich 1940
Reverse
Design	Denomination and two oak leaves. Mintmark below the denomination and between leaves. Lettering: 10 Reichspfennig J

The Reichsmark (German: [ˈʁaɪçsˌmaʁk]; sign: ℛℳ) was the currency in Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the Deutsche Mark, and until the 23 June in East Germany when it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig. The Mark is an ancient Germanic weight measure, traditionally a half pound, later used for several coins. From 1871 to 1918 Germany was called the Kaiserreich, or the Deutsches Reich. Although Germany became a republic in 1919, the term "Reich" remained part of the country's official name.

The Reichsmark was introduced in 1924 as a permanent replacement for the Papiermark. This was necessary due to the 1920s German inflation which had reached its peak in 1923. The exchange rate between the old Papiermark and the Reichsmark was 1 ℛℳ = 10¹² Papiermark (one trillion in US English and French, one billion in German and other European languages and UK English of the time, see long and short scales). To stabilize the economy and to smooth the transition, the Papiermark was not directly replaced by the Reichsmark, but by the Rentenmark, an interim currency backed by the Deutsche Rentenbank, owning industrial and agricultural real estate assets. The Reichsmark was put on the gold standard at the rate previously used by the Goldmark, with the U.S. dollar worth 4.2 ℛℳ.

As the market crash of 1929 expanded into the Great Depression, Germany was forced to effectively take the Reichsmark off the gold standard when it imposed exchange controls in July 1931. It retained a gold peg at that time. At the transition of Germany to National Socialist control, the Reichsmark was recruited as a financial weapon in the quest to rearm Germany. The Reichsbank turned on the printing presses to finance Adolf Hitler's jobs programs. To control inflation, severe wage and price controls were instituted, foreign currency exchange rates were manipulated, and interest rates increased. Such measures were effective for a time but by January 1939 the Reichsbank president, Hjalmar Schacht, was sounding the alarm and was summarily relieved of his post.