We've covered this story before, but here's a new report on how Germans are still sitting on large stashes of old
Deutschmark-denominated coins and paper money. -Editor
Despite the currency being replaced by the euro, Germans are still have some 12.9 billion in old
Deutschmarks, an equivalent of €6.6 billion, the German central bank estimated. Nostalgia is the primary motive for keeping the old coins and
notes.
Germany abolished the Deutschmark in 2002, when it entered the Eurozone. When European currencies were unified the Bundesbank started changing
marks into euros at a fixed rate of about DM 1.96 per euro and will continue to do so indefinitely.
But a large number of the obsolete banknotes and coins remain, if not in circulation then in possession of the general populace, the bank reported
this week. Its estimates say Germans hold 169 million notes and 24 billion coins of various denominations. Divided by Germany’s population of 81
million, this translates into an average of 82 euros per person.
Naturally, less-valuable coins are the Deutschmarks the Germans are reluctant to part with. More than half of those had not been converted, while
only four percent of banknotes were returned to the Bundesbank.
Old stashes of hoarded marks are being regularly discovered during renovations of old houses. They fuel a small but steady flow of annual
Deutschmark conversions, which amounted to €52.1 million in 2014.
Nostalgia seems to be the most prominent motive for keeping good old D-marks. According to a poll conducted by the Emnid institute for Postbank,
74 percent of Germans with Deutschmarks in their pocket see a sentimental value in them. Some 24 percent keep part of their savings in the old
currency, while 22 percent simply forgot to convert their assets, the poll showed.
To read the complete article, see:
Germans hoard €6.6 billion worth of obsolete Deutschmarks
(http://rt.com/news/217663-germans-keep-billions-deutschmarks/)
Wayne Homren, Editor
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