5 Mark

The Federal Republic's earliest Mark issues were printed under Allied supervision before West Germany had fully reconstituted its own central banking authority — the Bank deutscher Länder preceded the Bundesbank, and notes from this transitional period reflect the institutional uncertainty of the occupation years. A 5 Mark note at 70 × 40 mm is notably small even by the standards of low-denomination postwar German paper, suggesting a deliberate material economy at a time when quality printing stock was not guaranteed.