German Empire Gold Coins

German Empire Gold Coins

The gold coins of the German Empire


The Goldmark (officially just Mark, sign: ) was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914. The Papiermark refers to the German currency from 4 August 1914 when the link between the Mark and gold was abandoned. From January 1, 1876 onwards, the Mark became the only legal tender. The name Goldmark was created later to distinguish it from the Papiermark (paper mark) which suffered a serious loss of value through hyperinflation following World War I. The Goldmark was on a gold standard with 2790 Mark equal to 1 kilogram of pure gold (1 Mark = 358 mg).