10 Deutsche Mark

Pick 19 was the first Deutsche Mark series designed entirely within West Germany, a deliberate break from the earlier Bank Deutscher Länder issues that relied on foreign printers. Hermann Eidenbenz, the Swiss graphic designer responsible for the series, brought a restrained modernist aesthetic that became inseparable from the visual identity of the Bundesrepublik for two decades.

The note circulated across an unusually long span — the 1960 first printing ran alongside later dated issues well into the 1970s, creating multiple signature and date combinations that collectors distinguish carefully. Earlier printings show slightly warmer paper tone due to differences in the Bundesdruckerei's cotton stock sourcing during that period.