The Deutsche Mark

The Deutsche Mark was taken out of circulation over a decade ago but it's still legal tender in Germany in the sense that it can be used as a currency to buy goods and it can still be exchanged by the German government for Euros at a rate of one Euro for 1.95583 marks.  Because of this, according to the Wall Street Journal, Germans still have quite a few Marks stashed away.  How many you ask?  Here's what the Journal reports:

"As defunct currencies go, 'die gute alte D-mark,' or 'the good old D-mark,' as it is still affectionately called, is far from dead. Germans officially traded in the currency for euro bills and coins on Jan. 1, 2002, and the mark immediately ceased to be legal tender. But 13.2 billion marks—worth €6.75 billion ($8.3 billion)—remain tucked in mattresses, old prayer books, coat pockets or otherwise in circulation, according to the Bundesbank, more lucre than the euro bloc's 16 other ex-currencies combined." 

That's a lot of currency locked away in shoe boxes.  It also speaks to the economic prowess of Germany versus some of its neighbors and illustrates in its own way the average German's  reluctance to bail out the rest of the Euro-zone.  


And speaking of the rest of Europe, "According to the latest poll, 61% of Germans reject giving Greece and other bailed out countries more time to solve their problems. They’ve had enough of the broken promises. They’ve become so bitter about the whole process that, according to another poll, 58% of Germans want their Deutsche Mark back, up from 39% in 2010."  Link to this here.

Link:  Wall Street Journal: Who Needs the Euro When You Can Pay With Deutsche Marks