() is the name given to a currency denominated in which was issued by Germany in 1918 for use in a part of the eastern areas under German control at that time, the area. The currency consisted of paper money issued on 4 April 1918 by the Darlehnskasse Ost in (Kaunas) and was equal to the German . The circulated alongside the Imperial rouble and the , with two equal to one .
Denominations
The denominations available were: mark; 1 mark; 2 marks; 5 marks; 20 marks; 50 marks; 100 marks; 1000 marks.
The reverse sides of the carry a warning against forging banknotes in German, Latvian and Lithuanian.
Aftermath The Ostmark and Ostrubel continued to circulate in Lithuania from the end of World War I until 1 October 1922, when they were replaced by the . The names and were used for and , for example, on postage stamps. The reason for the replacement was the link to the , which already suffered from inflation (and would spiral into hyperinflation in 1923). The was pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Bibliography
N. Jakimovs and V. Marcilger, The Postal and Monetary History of Latvia 1918–1945, own book, 1991, pp. 14–13 - 14–15.
External links German banknotes, a.o. Ostrubels and Ostmarks.