Rentenmark bank note printed in dark brown ink on lightweight, rectangular, cream-colored paper. On the face is a rectangle with a blue and light brown latticework backprint surrounded by an elaborately decorative border with fan-shaped corner elements and a wide margin to the right. In the center of the rectangle, there is a large, lobed medallion with a geometric backprint and the denomination in the middle. The serial number is printed in dark red ink at top center, above several lines of German text. The denomination is printed in upper right margin, above an embossed, circular bank seal with German text around a wheat sheaf at the bottom. The margin is light red with a slightly visible X pattern and flecks of brown and blue throughout. On the back is a rectangle with an elaborate, wavy border surrounding an overlapping, dark green and brown geometric underprint and a wide margin to the left. In the center of the rectangle, there are three medallions with elaborate, wavy borders: a circular center medallion depicting a wheat sheaf, which is flanked by two oval medallions bearing the denomination. German text is printed above and below the medallions. Two lines of German text are printed vertically to the left of the rectangle. In the lower left margin, the denomination is printed over an embossed seal. The note is worn, creased, and stained overall, particularly around the edges. It is creased, and has a small tear at the left center edge.
Rentenbank note, valued at 2 Rentenmark, distributed for use in Germany from January 1937 to 1948. The Rentenmark became the national currency in 1923 to address the hyperinflation ruining the German economy following World War I. Before the Rentenmark was introduced, the former national currency, the Papiermark, was valued at 4.2 billion marks to one U.S. dollar, and was backed by gold, which the treasury did not have. In order to stabilize the economy, the German government established the Rentenbank on October 15, 1923, and the new Minister of Finance, Hans Luther, developed a system where the Rentenmark was backed by mortgage on all real property in Germany, rather than gold. The Rentenmark was set at 4.2 marks to one U.S. dollar, and its introduction successfully ended the inflation crisis. The Rentenmark was meant to be temporary and it was officially replaced as the national currency by the Reichsmark in 1924, but both notes remained legal tender. In 1937, the German government utilized the Rentenbank to issue 1 and 2 Rentenmark notes because the Reichsbank did not issue denominations lower than 5 Reichsmarks. Both notes included an image of a sheaf of wheat on the back, the emblem of the Rentenbank. When France, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union placed Germany under allied occupation in 1945, the Deutsche Mark became the official Germany currency, but the Rentenmark and the Reichsmark both remained in circulation until 1948.
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German Rentenbank, 2 Rentenmark note
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overall: Height: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Width: 4.875 inches (12.383 cm)
The currency was donated to the United Sates Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2003 by Joel Forman.