5 Marks – Germany

By 1925, Germany was in a fragile period of stabilization following the catastrophic hyperinflation of 1923. The old Reichsmark, rendered worthless, had been replaced in late 1923 by the Rentenmark, a currency backed by a theoretical mortgage on German land and industry. This stopgap measure, based on psychological confidence rather than tangible reserves, successfully halted the inflation. In 1924, the Dawes Plan restructured Germany's reparations payments and provided foreign loans, primarily from the United States, which allowed for the introduction of a new, permanent currency.

On October 11, 1924, the Reichsmark was formally established, replacing the Rentenmark at a 1:1 ratio. It was intended to be backed by gold and foreign exchange, re-linking Germany to the international gold standard. By 1925, this new currency was bedded in, and the economy was experiencing a period of relative calm and growth known as the "Golden Twenties." This stability, however, was fundamentally dependent on continuous inflows of American capital under the Dawes Plan to pay reparations and fuel industrial expansion.

Consequently, the currency situation in 1925 was one of surface normality masking profound underlying vulnerability. The stability of the Reichsmark was not organically achieved but was propped up by foreign debt and international political agreements. The economy and the currency were therefore acutely sensitive to any withdrawal of foreign loans or shifts in the geopolitical landscape, planting the seeds for future crisis when the Great Depression began and those capital flows abruptly reversed.