East German mark

The East German mark (German language: Mark der DDR), commonly called Ostmark, "Eastern mark", was the currency of East Germany.

Officially it was known as the Mark der DDR (Mark of the GDR) and colloquially it was just known as the Mark. It was divided into 100 pfennigs (Pf). It was replaced by Deutsche Marks on 1 July 1990 (currency union with the Federal Republic of Germany). It could not be spent in intershops to acquire Western consumer goods, instead hard currencies or forum checks had to be used there.

It was officially valued by the East German government at parity with the Deutsche Mark, but it was never freely convertible. Visitors to East Germany were required to exchange Deutsche Marks with Ostmarks at this ratio. In the black market this rate was about 5 to 10 Ms for a DM.

[[Image:1975-DDR-100.jpg|frame|left|A 100 Mark banknote from East Germany of 1975 ()]]

Upon adoption of the Deutsche Mark in East Germany, it was converted at 1:1 for wages, prices, and basic savings. Larger amounts were converted at a 1:2 rate. This politically motivated exchange rate caused massive economic trouble for the government of the Federal Republic of Germany.