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100 Mark Forum-Scheck
| Issuer | Forum Außenhandelsgesellschaft m. b. H. |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
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| Size | 139 × 63 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 100 forum Außenhandelsgesellschaft m. b. H. Scheck über HUNDERT MARK zum Erwerb von Waren Der Scheck ist vorgesehen für die Verrechnung in Einrichtungen der „Forum”-Außenhandelsgesellschaft m. b. H. AA 657027 100 (Translation: forum Foreign Trade Company Ltd. Cheque for ONE HUNDRED MARKS for the purchase of goods. This cheque is intended for settlement in establishments of the "Forum" Foreign Trade Company Ltd.) |
| Reverse description | Pale yellow guilloche underprint with a horizontal ochre band carrying the non-transferability notice in light text. The stylised Forum monogram appears at right within the band, with the date 1979 and denomination numeral below. |
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| Comments |
Forum Außenhandelsgesellschaft was the East German state's mechanism for extracting hard currency from its own citizens and foreign visitors. These "Forum-Schecks" were sold abroad at face value in Western currency — one West German Mark bought one Forum Mark — and could be spent at Intershop stores stocked with Western goods unavailable through normal retail channels. The implicit exchange rate was punishing; the official rate bore no relationship to reality.
The 1979 series was printed in quantities high enough to confirm how aggressively the GDR pushed the scheme through the late Brezhnev years. Possession of Western currency outside the Forum system was, simultaneously, a criminal offense.