Duitsland

Headline: Packed with History: Germans Still Hoarding Millions of Mark Coins 23 Years into Euro Era

Subheadline: A glance into the remnants of the past as former currencies persist in Europe

Article:

Buried in the depths of attics and stashed away in forgotten piggy banks, remnants of pre-euro Germany lie in wait. In 2024, a staggering 53 million German marks were surrendered, translating to over €27 million at today’s rates. While the euro has been the prevailing currency for two decades, significant numbers of these historic marks remain in circulation.

Last year brought 98,165 transactions in which Germans handed over their old marks, with the average transaction amounting to around 542 marks. The German central bank, the Bundesbank, estimates that around 12.2 billion marks, worth approximately €6.2 billion, still linger in people’s possession.

Holdouts of the Past: Gulden Bills in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, too, has its own ghosts of currencies past. The Dutch central bank, DNB, estimated in late 2023 that around 25.6 million guilder bills, with a collective worth of €440 million, are still in use. While the guilder was officially replaced by the euro in 2002, the Dutch have until 2032 to exchange their remaining bills.

A special mention goes to holders of Vondel 1 and Vondel 2 bills (5 and 25 guilder denominations). These will cease to be accepted after May 1, 2025, making time of the essence for their current possessors.

May the Past Rest: Converting Euros to Gulden

For those tempted to convert their euros back into guilders for nostalgia’s sake, our advice remains the same: abstain. The exchange rate simply doesn’t warrant the effort.

Germany Strengthens Constitutional Court Independence Amidst AfD Threat

In a bid to safeguard democratic norms and the rule of law, the German parliament, the Bundestag, has approved a raft of measures aimed at shielding the constitutional court from political interference. The moves, indirectly targeting the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, aim to bolster the court’s independence and prevent a scenario similar to that unfolding in Poland and Hungary.

AfD, which has gained significant traction in certain regions, sees the highest court as biased, alleging it was elected by a "party cartel" from which it is excluded. Mainstream parties refute this, insisting that the judges are impartial and often rule against political wishes.

Key among the reforms is a change in the process for appointing judges to the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Currently, both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat (upper house) must approve appointments with a two-thirds majority to prevent radical parties from blocking nominations. Now, if a party wins a third of the seats in the Bundestag—should AfD manage this—the Bundesrat will make the appointments.

Experts warn that this threat is not merely theoretical. In.stringency-1" href="https://www.zeit.de/news/2024-09/23/afd-sperrminoritaet-gibt-mehr-gestaltungsmoeglichkeit" target="_blank"> Brandenburg, AfD has already signaled its intent to veto judicial appointments.

Additional reforms include stricter rules governing the court’s composition, such as age limits and term lengths, preventing autocratic governments from altering rules to Their advantage, as seen in Poland and Hungary.

Moreover, Germany has launched a review of practices undermining the rule of law in Central and Eastern European countries to prevent similar erosions at home. "We’ve learned from them," admits veteran justice minister Kai Gehring (Alliance 90/The Greens).

The reforms come ahead of Germany’s early elections on February 23rd, which the AfD is unlikely to win outright but could secure a third of the votes. The measures are preventive, designed to future-proof Germany’s democracy,born out of firsthand knowledge of how quickly democracies can crumble, as exemplified by World War II.

Widely supported across the political spectrum, from the ruling CDU/CSU and SPD to the Greens, Liberals, and Left Party, the reforms underscore Germany’s ongoing commitment to democratic norms and the rule of law, even amidst electoral pressures.