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Old Bonds and Currencies

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The old foreign bonds of the former German Reich, especially the “German External Loan 1924 Seven Per Cent Gold Bond” (Dawes loan) and the “German Government International 5 ½ % Loan 1930” (Young loan) were declared invalid by German law in 1958. The basis for this is the German Foreign Bonds Settlement Act (AuslWBG). The rightful owners of the bonds should had registered them in time in accordance with the provisions of the London Agreement on German Foreign Debts of 27 February 1953 (London Debt Agreement). The old bond papers still in circulation today are worthless - apart from a possible collector's value.

The historical background to this is that the German Reich stopped payments on foreign bonds from the mid-1930s. Even after the end of World War 2, no payments were made at first. Then, in the London Debt Agreement, a settlement was reached for the foreign debts of the former German Reich and the former Free State of Prussia. The old Dawes and Young bonds were exchanged for so-called conversion bonds at modified conditions (term, interest). A prerequisite for the exchange was recognition in a settlement procedure. The conversion bonds have been redeemed since 1969 (Dawes bond), 1973 (Prussian bonds) respectively 1980 (Young bond).

German Reich mark treasury bills, bonds and special funds

Claims arising from German Reich mark treasury bills and bonds and special funds (German Reich railway, German Reich postal service) as well as from the former state of Prussia issued from 1924 to 1945 were settled under the November 5, 1957, General Law Regulating Compensation for War-Induced Losses (AKG) (Federal Gazette, vol. I, p. 1747). Claims arising from these securities could accordingly be redeemed at 10 percent of the face value under certain personal conditions (conversion from Reichsmark to Deutsche Mark).The regular filing period under the AKG expired in the sixties. Thereafter, filings were possible only in especially well-founded, exceptional cases. Following the December 21, 1992, Law Regulating the Settlement of War-Induced Losses, this grace period definitively expired as of January 1, 1993.

German Reich bonds issued prior to 1924

For German Reich bonds issued in old Reich currency prior to 1924, the Bond Redemption Law of July 16, 1925 (Reich Gazette vol. I, p. 137) stipulated whether and, if so, in what amount these securities could be exchanged for the German Reich loan redemption debt of 1925. Generally speaking, the securities were exchanged at a ratio of 40 (gold) marks to 1 Reich mark; in the case of securities stemming from the inflationary years of 1922/1923, however, exchanges were made at much lower percentages of the face values. The period for exchanging these securities definitively expired by the war's end in 1945. From December 1926 to March 1945, the loan redemption debt was largely repaid. The claims still open at that time were incorporated into the provision under the AKG in 1957.

Further Information

Aside from any value they may have as a collectors' item or memorabilia, all the cited securities are worthless. If you require any further information on specific securities, please do not hesitate to contact the Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues, PG Securities External Bonds Examining Agency:

BADV
Projektgruppe Wertpapiere
Prüfstelle fuer Auslandsbonds
DGZ-Ring 12
D-13086 Berlin
Germany

or e-mail: poststelle@badv.bund.de

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