1 Pfennig Bank of German States

The Bank deutscher Länder was a transitional institution — established by the Western Allied occupation authorities in March 1948 to manage currency for the three western zones before the Federal Republic existed as a political entity. These pfennig pieces were struck as part of the currency reform of June 1948, which replaced the Reichsmark at a brutal conversion rate and wiped out savings across West Germany almost overnight. The reform was considered essential to kill black-market paralysis and restart the economy.

Production ran across two years before the BdL was absorbed into the newly established Bundesbank in 1957. The 1948-dated pieces were struck at the Hamburg mint.