[1] It was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout Europe and often equivalent to 8 troy ounces (250 g).

In northern Germany (especially Hamburg and Lübeck) as well as in much of trade in the Baltic region, the customary unit of account was the mark valued at 1⁄3 of a Reichsthaler.

In an attempt to prevent debasement of the currency by the influx of adulterated coins, the Hamburger Bank was founded in 1619.

Initially, the coins and banknotes of the various predecessor currencies, such as the thaler, the kreuzer, and the guilder, continued to circulate, and were treated as fixed multiples of the new unit of account, similarly to the introduction period of the euro between 1999 and 2002.

In 1914 the Reichsbank stopped demanding first-class collateral (e.g. good bills of exchange, covered bonds such as Pfandbriefe) when providing credit to borrowers.

In late 1923 when the paper mark had become virtually worthless, it was replaced by a new currency, the Rentenmark (worth 1 trillion Papiermark).

The new currency was issued by the newly established Rentenbank as credit to borrowers, but requiring collateral in the form of first-class claims to real estate.

In 1924 the Reichsbank stopped providing unrestricted credit against worthless financial bills, and pegged its new currency, the Reichsmark, to the stable Rentenmark.

By 1935, laws limiting increases of prices, wages, and rents were needed to suppress inflation.

The start of World War II was used to justify general price controls and rationing.

Thus inflation was officially hidden, and was expressed as ever-growing aggregate savings of the population, which could only spend its earnings on limited rations of goods at artificially low prices.

Banknotes worth 15 to 18 bn military marks were issued for purchases by the occupying forces in Germany, and for soldiers' wages.