German banknotes 1914–1917

At the beginning of August 1914 the First World War broke out.

The German central bank began issuing a new series of banknotes in 1915. The first had a value of 20 marks and depicted men holding cornucopias filled with money.

In addition to the notes issued by the German central bank, the German Empire issued a series of banknotes based on war loans. Their value was the same as the currency issued by the central bank.

During the war, according to the original account, the value of the mark fell only to half its pre-war value.