1.
East German mark
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The East German mark commonly called the eastern mark, in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic. Its ISO4217 currency code was DDM and it was divided into 100 Pfennig. On 18 June 1948 a currency reform was announced for the western zones, subsequently, on 20 June 1948, the Reichsmark and the Rentenmark were abolished in the western occupation zones and replaced with the Deutsche Mark issued by the Bank deutscher Länder. Because the Reichsmark was still legal tender in the Soviet occupation zone, the currency flooded into the east from the west and this caused sudden inflation, which caused privately held cash in the Soviet zone to become worthless overnight. Only such banknotes could be exchanged when the Deutsche Notenbank issued the new Deutsche Mark with the subsequent currency reform, the adhesive coupons had already been printed and, with logistic assistance by the Soviets, distributed among the district offices. First affixings of the coupons started immediately, already on 19 June 1948, on 23 June 1948, the official starting day of the action, a considerable store of primed banknotes was already available. This enabled to reduce waiting times and to accelerate the process by exchanging these notes for unprimed banknotes, on 24 July 1948, a completely new series of banknotes were issued. It maintained the official name Deutsche Mark von der Deutschen Notenbank until 1964, from 1964 to 1967, the East German mark was officially designated as the Mark der Deutschen Notenbank. With the constitutional amendments of 1968 and 1974, the leadership of East Germany moved away from the goal of a unified Germany. Of the GDR where earlier they would simply have said German, coins minted prior to the renaming, with the legend Deutsche Mark, continued to circulate for several years, but they were gradually replaced by the early 1980s by coins with the legend Mark. The East German mark was officially valued by the East German government at parity with the Deutsche Mark, however, because it was not readily convertible and the GDRs export profile was restricted, it was practically worthless outside East Germany. The few East Germans able to visit the West often found themselves having to rely on their West German relatives as a result, starting on 13 October 1980, Western visitors to the GDR were required to exchange a minimum of 25 Deutsche Mark for East German marks per day. Some exceptions were authorized, for example, tourists who booked hotel stays in the GDR that were paid in currency were exempted from the minimum exchange requirements. At other times, West Berliners, retirees, children, on the black market, the exchange rate was about 5 to 10 M to one DM. In the mid-1980s, one could easily visit foreign currency exchange offices in West Berlin, however, the GDR forbade the import or export of East German currency into or out of the GDR, and penalties for violation ranged from confiscation of smuggled currency to imprisonment. The East German mark could not be spent in Intershops to acquire Western consumer goods, as a result, the main purchasers of black market East German banknotes were Allied military personnel entering East Berlin, as they were exempt from East German customs inspection. Upon adoption of the deutsche Mark in East Germany on 1 July 1990, larger amounts of savings, company debts and housing loans were converted at a 2,1 rate whilst so-called speculative money, acquired shortly before unification, was converted at a rate of 3,1. Around 4,500 tonnes of East German coins were melted down at the Rackwitz metal works in 1990, in total,3,000 tonnes of banknotes, passbooks, and checks were stored there, having been brought by military convoy from the Staatsbank der DDR in Berlin
2.
German gold mark
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The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914. The Papiermark refers to the German currency from 4 August 1914 when the link between the Mark and gold was abandoned. Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver. Although the Mark was based on rather than silver, a fixed exchange rate between the Vereinsthaler and the Mark of 3 Mark =1 Vereinsthaler was used for the conversion. Southern Germany had used the Gulden as the unit of account. Bremen had used a gold based Thaler which was converted directly to the Mark at a rate of 1 gold Thaler =3.32 Mark, Hamburg had used its own Mark prior to 1873. This was replaced by the Goldmark at a rate of 1 Hamburg Mark =1.2 Goldmark, from 1 January 1876 onwards, the Mark became the only legal tender. The name Goldmark was created later to distinguish it from the Papiermark which suffered a loss of value through hyperinflation following World War I. The goldmark was on a standard with 2790 Mark equal to 1 kilogram of pure gold. From 1900 to 1933, the United States adhered to a standard as well. The goldmark therefore had a value of approximately U. S. $0.25, the monetary hegemon of the time when the goldmark was in use, however, was the Pound Sterling, with £1 being valued at 20.43 goldmarks. The actual total payout from 1920 to 1931 was 20 billion German goldmarks, most of that money came from loans from New York bankers. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, payments of reparations were officially abandoned, the interest on those debts was paid off on 3 October 2010, the 20th anniversary of German reunification. Occasionally Commemorative coins were minted, in cases the obverse. Many of the states issued coins in very small numbers. Also, in all states coinage became very limited after the First World War began. Well preserved examples of such low mintage coins can be rare, the Principality of Lippe was the only state not to issue any gold coins in this period. 1 Pfennig 2 Pfennig 5 Pfennig 10 Pfennig 20 Pfennig 25 Pfennig Silver coins were minted in.900 fineness to a standard of 5 grams silver per Mark, production of 2 and 5 Mark coins ceased in 1915 while 1 Mark coins continued to be issued until 1916
3.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
4.
Albanian language
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Centuries-old communities speaking Albanian-based dialects can be found scattered in Greece, Southern Italy, Sicily, and Ukraine. Due to the large Albanian diaspora, the number of speakers is much higher than the native speakers in Southeast Europe. The first audio recording of Albanian was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in Vienna, the Albanian language is part of the Indo-European language group. In general there is insufficient evidence to connect Albanian with one of those languages, Albanian is now considered an isolate within Indo-European, no extant language shares the same branch. The only other languages that are the surviving member of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian. Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek, Balto-Slavic, and Germanic languages, in 1995, Ann Taylor, Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow described as surprising their finding, using quantitative linguistic techniques, that Albanian appears to comprise a subgroup with Germanic. This theory is reinforced by subsequent research by the same authors, Albanian also shares two features with Balto-Slavic languages, a lengthening of syllabic consonants before voiced obstruents and a distinct treatment of long syllables ending in a sonorant. Other conservative features of Albanian include the retention of the distinction between active and middle voice, present tense and aorist. In another but uncommon hypothesis, Albanian is grouped with both Balto-Slavic and Germanic based on the merger of Proto-Indo-European *ǒ and *ǎ into *ǎ in a northern group. However, this shift is now regarded as only part of a larger push chain that affected all long vowels. The earliest loanwords attested in Albanian come from Doric Greek, whereas the strongest influence came from Latin, curtis, the loanwords do not necessarily indicate the geographical location of the ancestor of Albanian language. However, according to linguists, the borrowed words can help to get an idea about the place of origin. The period during which Proto-Albanian and Latin interacted was protracted and drawn out roughly from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. This is borne out into three layers of borrowings, the largest number belonging to the second layer, which may be compared to, for example. The first, with the fewest borrowings, was a time of less important interaction, the final period, probably preceding the Slavic or Germanic invasions, also has a notably smaller number of borrowings. Other formative changes include the syncretism of several case endings, especially in the plural. Such borrowing indicates that the Romanians migrated from an area where the majority was Slavic to an area with a majority of Albanian speakers and their movement is probably related to the expansion of the Bulgarian Empire into Albania around that time. Jernej Kopitar was the first to note Latins influence on Albanian, Kopitar gave examples such as Albanian qiqer from Latin cicer, qytet from civitas, peshk from piscis and shigjetë from sagitta
5.
Croatian language
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It is the official and literary standard of Croatia and one of the official languages of the European Union. Croatian is also one of the languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a recognized minority language in Serbia. Croatian is written in Gajs Latin alphabet, besides the Shtokavian dialect, on which Standard Croatian is based, there are two other main dialects, Chakavian and Kajkavian. It is still used now in parts of Istria, which became a crossroads of various mixtures of Chakavian with Ekavian/Ijekavian/Ikavian dialects, the cultural apex of this 17th century idiom is represented by the editions of Adrianskoga mora sirena by Petar Zrinski and Putni tovaruš by Katarina Zrinska. However, this first linguistic renaissance in Croatia was halted by the execution of Petar Zrinski. Subsequently the Croatian elite in the 18th century gradually abandoned this combined Croatian standard, specifically, three major groups of dialects were spoken on Croatian territory, and there had been several literary languages over four centuries. The leader of the Illyrian movement Ljudevit Gaj standardized the Latin alphabet in 1830–1850, the uniform Neo-Shtokavian then became common in the Croatian elite. In the 1860s, the Zagreb Philological School dominated the Croatian cultural life, drawing upon linguistic, while it was dominant over the rival Rijeka Philological School and Zadar Philological Schools, its influence waned with the rise of the Croatian Vukovians. Croatian is commonly characterized by the Ijekavian pronunciation, the use of the Latin alphabet. Some differences are absolute, while some appear mainly in the frequency of use, Croatian, although technically a form of Serbo-Croatian, is sometimes considered a distinct language by itself. Differences between various forms of Serbo-Croatian are often exaggerated for political reasons. Most Croatian linguists regard Croatian as a language that is considered key to national identity. The issue is sensitive in Croatia as the notion of a language being the most important characteristic of a nation is widely accepted. The terms Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat are still used as a term for all these forms by foreign scholars. Within ex-Yugoslavia, the term has largely replaced by the ethnic terms Serbian, Croatian. In 2013, the EU started publishing a Croatian language version of its official gazette, Standard Croatian is the official language of the Republic of Croatia and, along with Standard Bosnian and Standard Serbian, one of three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also official in the regions of Burgenland, Molise, additionally, it has co-official status alongside Romanian in the communes of Carașova and Lupac, Romania. Croatian is officially used and taught at all the universities in Croatia, there is no regulatory body that determines the proper usage of Croatian
6.
Serbian language
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Serbian is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the language of Serbia and one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, it is a minority language in Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia. Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian, which is also the basis of Standard Croatian, Bosnian, the other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian. Serbian is practically the only European standard language with complete synchronic digraphia, the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet was designed by Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in 1830, Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian, a Slavic language, of the South Slavic subgroup. Other standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian are Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin and it has lower intelligibility with the Eastern South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Macedonian, than with Slovene. The 2011 census show that 42. 88% still declare Serbian to be their native language, Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic and Latin script. Even in official government documents this constitutional requirement is rarely enforced, Serbian is a rare example of synchronic digraphia, a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or another, for example, the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia, predominantly uses the Cyrillic script whereas the privately run broadcasters, like RTV Pink, predominantly use the Latin script. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors the Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one and these are the tenses of the indicative mood. Apart from the mood, there is also the imperative mood. The conditional mood has two more tenses, the first conditional and the second conditional, Serbian has active and passive voice. As for the verb forms, Serbian has one infinitive. Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to the Proto-Slavic language, there are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages, and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevanđelje in 1192 and Dušanov zakonik in 1349. In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, however, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature, the most notable form being Serbian epic poetry. The epic poems were written down in the 19th century, and preserved in oral tradition up to the 1950s
7.
Banknote
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A banknote is a type of negotiable instrument known as a promissory note, made by a bank, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by banks, who were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks, national banknotes are generally legal tender, meaning that medium of payment is allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Historically, banks sought to ensure that they could always pay customers in coins when they presented banknotes for payment and this practice of backing notes with something of substance is the basis for the history of central banks backing their currencies in gold or silver. Today, most national currencies have no backing in precious metals or commodities and have value only by fiat, with the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal issues, coins are used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values. The idea of using a durable light-weight substance as evidence of a promise to pay a bearer on demand originated in China during the Han Dynasty in 118 BC, the first known banknote was first developed in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, starting in the 7th century. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, during the Yuan Dynasty, banknotes were adopted by the Mongol Empire. In Europe, the concept of banknotes was first introduced during the 13th century by such as Marco Polo. Counterfeiting, the forgery of banknotes, is an inherent challenge in issuing currency and it is countered by anticounterfeiting measures in the printing of banknotes. Fighting the counterfeiting of banknotes and cheques has been a driver of security printing methods development in recent centuries. Paper currency first developed in the Tang Dynasty China during the 7th century, although true paper money did not appear until the 11th century, the usage of paper currency later spread throughout the Mongol Empire. European explorers like Marco Polo introduced the concept in Europe during the 13th century, napoleon issued paper banknotes in the early 1800s. Paper money originated in two forms, drafts, which are receipts for value held on account, and bills, the perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money was based on precious metals, Banknotes were seen as essentially an I. O. U. or promissory note, a promise to pay someone in precious metal on presentation. With the gradual removal of precious metals from the system, banknotes evolved to represent credit money. Notes or bills were referred to in 18th century novels and were often a key part of the plot such as a note drawn by Lord X for £100 which becomes due in 3 months time. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, before the use of paper, the Chinese used coins that were circular, with a rectangular hole in the middle
8.
ISO 4217
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The ISO4217 code list is used in banking and business globally. ISO4217 codes are used on tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price. The first two letters of the code are the two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself, so Japans currency code is JPY—JP for Japan and Y for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the dollar, franc, peso and pound being used in dozens of different countries. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency codes last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. Other changes can be seen, however, the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB and these currency units are denominated as one troy ounce of the specified metal as opposed to USD1 or EUR1. The code XTS is reserved for use in testing, the code XXX is used to denote a transaction involving no currency. There are also codes specifying certain monetary instruments used in international finance, the codes for most supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO. The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit, had the code XEU, the use of an initial letter X for these purposes is facilitated by the ISO3166 rule that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned. Because of this rule ISO4217 can use X codes without risk of clashing with a country code. ISO3166 country codes beginning with X are used for private custom use, consequently, ISO4217 can use X codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes. The inclusion of EU in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, the ISO4217 standard includes a crude mechanism for expressing the relationship between a major currency unit and its corresponding minor currency unit. This mechanism is called the exponent and assumes a base of 10. For example, USD is equal to 100 of its currency unit the cent. So the USD has exponent 2, the code JPY is given the exponent 0, because its minor unit, the sen, although nominally valued at 1/100 of a yen, is of such negligible value that it is no longer used. Usually, as with the USD, the currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but in some cases 1/1000 is used. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya equal to 5 khoums, some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all and these are given an exponent of 0, as with currencies whose minor units are unused due to negligible value. There is also a code number assigned to each currency
9.
Pfennig
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The pfennig or penny is a former German coin or note, which was official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. Pfennig was also the name of the subunit of the Danzig mark, the etymology of all of these is not completely clear, but seems to rely on the way coins were minted during the Middle Ages, the base material were thin flat metal discs. The value was embossed from one side, creating a pan -like coin, in some German countries, coins had similar but different names, as pfenning, penning, pending, pfanding and penny. This was for better handling due to different currencies used simultaneously, the symbol is encoded in Unicode at U+20B0 ₰ GERMAN PENNY SIGN. In the 8th century Charlemagne declared that 240 pfennigs should be minted from a pound of silver, a single coin had a mass of 1.7 grams after the coinage reform of circa 790. Until the 13th century, the pfennig was made from real silver, from the 12th century on, the German King was no longer able to enforce the regalia to mint coins, so many towns and local lords made their own coins. Mostly, less valuable metals and less metal per coin was used, by the late 17th century, the pfennigs had lost most of their value. The last pfennig coins containing traces of silver are rarities minted in 1805, the Mark gold currency, introduced in 1871 as currency of the newly founded German Reich, was divided as 1 Mark =100 Pfennig. This partition was retained through all German currencies until 2001, the last West German one- and two-pfennig coins were steel with a copper coating. The five- and ten-pfennig coins were steel with a brass coating, the latter was called a Groschen, while the five-pfennig coin, half a groschen, was regionally also referred to as the Sechser, deriving from the former duodecimal division of the groschen. All four coins had their value imprinted on the obverse and an oak on the reverse, the coins of the Mark der DDR were made of aluminium, except for the 20 pfennigs coin, which was made of an aluminium copper alloy. After the introduction of the euro, some, mainly older, the pfennig ligature is defined and coded in Unicode as follows, Bracteate Penny Denier, the French penny
10.
Currency symbol
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A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
11.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
12.
Allied-occupied Germany
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The four powers divided Germany into four occupation zones for administrative purposes, into what is collectively known now as Allied-occupied Germany. This division was ratified at the Potsdam Conference, in Autumn 1944 the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had agreed on the zones by the London Protocol. The Final German Peace Treaty would result in the westward of Polands borders back to approximately as they were before 1722. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed beyond the boundaries for the future zones of occupation. The so-called line of contact between Soviet and American forces at the end of hostilities, mostly lying eastward of the July 1945-established inner German border was temporary. After two months in which they had areas that had been assigned to the Soviet zone. All territories annexed by Germany before the war from Austria and Czechoslovakia were returned to these countries, the Memel Territory, annexed by Germany from Lithuania before the war, was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and transferred to the Lithuanian SSR. All territories annexed by Germany during the war from Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Poland, the American zone consisted of Bavaria and Hesse in Southern Germany, and the northern portions of the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. The ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven were also placed under American control because of the American request to have certain toeholds in Northern Germany, the headquarters of the American military government was the former IG Farben Building in Frankfurt am Main. Beginning in May 1945, many of the American combat troops and airmen in, Army, the Army Air Forces, and the U. S. Navy upon their return home. The Canadian Army was tied down in surrounding the Netherlands until the Germans there surrendered on 5 May 1945 – just two days before the surrender of the Wehrmacht in Western Europe to U. S. Then in July 1945, the British Army withdrew from small slices of Germany that had previously agreed to be occupied by the Soviet Army. Within the British Zone of Occupation, the CCG/BE re-established the German state of Hamburg, also in 1947, the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen became an exclave of the American Zone of Occupation located within the British Zone. In 1946, the Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany had 4,000 soldiers in Hanover, despite its being one of the Allied Powers, the French Republic was at first not granted an occupation zone in Germany. This created a French zone of occupation in the westernmost part of Germany and it consisted of two barely contiguous areas of Germany along the French border that met at just a single point along the Rhine River. It included the Saargebiet, which was disentangled from it on 16 February 1946, by 18 December 1946 customs controls were established between the Saar area and allied occupied Germany. The French zone ceded further adjacent municipalities to the Saar, included in the French zone was the town of Büsingen am Hochrhein, a German exclave separated from the rest of the country by a narrow strip of neutral Swiss territory. The Swiss government agreed to limited numbers of French troops to pass through its territory in order to maintain law
13.
Trizone
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The Bizone or Bizonia was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones in 1947 during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone on 1 June 1948 the entity became the Trizone, later, on 23 May 1949, the Trizone became the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany. The Western deliveries had started in 1946, consequently, the American military administrator, Lucius D. The states in the Soviet zone had only limited functions, after Potsdam, in the summer of 1945, the Control Commission for Germany – British Element in Bad Oeynhausen created central offices for its zone. After March 1946 the British zonal advisory board was established, with representatives of the states, the offices, political parties, trade unions. As indicated by its name, the advisory board had no legislative power. The Control Commission for Germany – British Element made all decisions with its legislative power and it created its own central bodies headed by a secretariat seated in Stuttgart. France had not participated in the Potsdam Conference, so it felt free to some of the Potsdam Agreements. Therefore, the states in the French zone were given a level of autonomy but under French supervision. On 6 September, at the conference in Stuttgart, US Secretary of State James F, no agreement with the Soviets was possible. Allowing the states in the Soviet zone to govern the central administrations, then subject to the SVAG. The Soviets had begun mass expropriations of entrepreneurs, real estate owners, and banks in September 1945, a process that had continued ever since. The Bizone was the first step in coordinating the policies in at least two zones of occupation in Germany, which up to that time had operated mostly unconnected due the French obstructionism. At the Washington Conference of Foreign Ministers France agreed to merge its zone with the Bizone into the Trizone, the economic management of the two zones was handled by the Administrative Council for the Economy, based in Minden. Later, administrative cooperation expanded, paving the way to a West German rump state, with the Bizone, the foundation for new constitutional and economic developments was laid, cemented by the currency reform of June 1948. On the other hand, Germany was now on a track to the division into an East. On 29 May 1947, the American and British military governments signed an agreement creating an Economic Council for the Bizone, to be based in Frankfurt am Main. Lewkowicz argues that the establishment of the Bizone was the most significant factor in the creation of two blocs in Europe and therefore in the configuration of the Cold War international order
14.
West Germany
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West Germany is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation on 23 May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990. During this Cold War era, NATO-aligned West Germany and Warsaw Pact-aligned East Germany were divided by the Inner German border, after 1961 West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. With the reunification of West and East Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany, enlarged now to sixteen states and this period is referred to as the Bonn Republic by historians, alluding to the interwar Weimar Republic and the post-reunification Berlin Republic. The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, US and British forces remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Its population grew from roughly 51 million in 1950 to more than 63 million in 1990, the city of Bonn was its de facto capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone was held by the Soviet Union, as a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interbellum democratic Weimar Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided among the Western and Eastern blocs, Germany was de facto divided into two countries and two special territories, the Saarland and divided Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany claimed a mandate for all of Germany. It took the line that the GDR was an illegally constituted puppet state, though the GDR did hold regular elections, these were not free and fair. For all practical purposes the GDR was a Soviet puppet state, from the West German perspective the GDR was therefore illegitimate. Three southwestern states of West Germany merged to form Baden-Württemberg in 1952, in addition to the resulting ten states, West Berlin was considered an unofficial de facto 11th state. It recognised the GDR as a de facto government within a single German nation that in turn was represented de jure by the West German state alone. From 1973 onward, East Germany recognised the existence of two German countries de jure, and the West as both de facto and de jure foreign country, the Federal Republic and the GDR agreed that neither of them could speak in the name of the other. The first chancellor Konrad Adenauer, who remained in office until 1963, had worked for an alignment with NATO rather than neutrality. He not only secured a membership in NATO but was also a proponent of agreements that developed into the present-day European Union, when the G6 was established in 1975, there was no question whether the Federal Republic of Germany would be a member as well. With the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolised by the opening of the Berlin Wall, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the Federal Republic in 1990. Its five post-war states were reconstituted along with the reunited Berlin and they formally joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, raising the number of states from 10 to 16, ending the division of Germany
15.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
16.
West Berlin
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West Berlin was an enclave which comprised the western part of the city of Berlin during the Cold War. It was formally controlled by the Western Allies and formed a de facto part of West Germany, and was entirely surrounded by the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners as an island of freedom. A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its liberal and cosmopolitan character. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the biggest population of any city in Cold War Germany and it was 100 miles east of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945 and was de facto part of West Germany and it had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies. East Berlin, de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union, was the de facto capital of East Germany, the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically divided West Berlin from its East German surroundings until it fell in 1989. The Potsdam Agreement established the framework for the occupation of Germany in the wake of World War II. The territory of Germany, as it existed in 1937, would be reduced by most of Eastern Germany thus creating the former territories of Germany. The remaining territory would be divided into four zones, each administered by one of the allied countries, according to the agreement, the occupation of Berlin would end only as a result of a quadripartite agreement. The Western Allies were guaranteed three air corridors to their sectors of Berlin, and the Soviets also informally allowed road, at first, this arrangement was intended to be only a temporary administrative structure, with all parties declaring that Germany and Berlin would soon be reunited. However, as the relations between the allies and the Soviet Union soured and the Cold War began, the joint administration of Germany. Soon, Soviet-occupied Berlin and western-occupied Berlin had separate city administrations, in 1948, the Soviets tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by imposing a land blockade on the western sectors—the Berlin Blockade. The West responded by using its air corridors for supplying their part of the city with food, in May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade, and West Berlin as a separate city with its own jurisdiction was maintained. Following the Berlin Blockade, normal contacts between East and West Berlin resumed, however, in cases this proved only temporary. In 1952, the East German government began sealing its borders, as a direct result the electrical grids were separated and phone lines were cut. However, the culmination of the schism did not occur until 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall. From the legal theory followed by the Western Allies, the occupation of most of Germany ended in 1949 with the declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
17.
East Germany
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East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
18.
Kosovo
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Kosovo is a disputed territory and partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe that declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo is landlocked in the central Balkan Peninsula, with its strategic position in the Balkans, it serves as an important link in the connection between central and south Europe, the Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea. Its capital and largest city is Pristina, and other urban areas include Prizren, Pejë. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, the Republic of Macedonia to the southeast, Montenegro to the west, while Serbia recognises administration of the territory by Kosovos elected government, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. In antiquity, the Dardanian Kingdom, and later the Roman province of Dardania was located in the region, the area was inhabited by several ancient Illyrian tribes. In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian Empires, Kosovo was the core of the medieval Serbian state and it has been the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church from the 14th century when its status was upgraded into a patriarchate. After being part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 20th century, the war ended with a military intervention of NATO, which forced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, which became a UN protectorate under UNSCR1244. On 17 February 2008 Kosovos Parliament declared independence and it has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state by 111 UN member states, Taiwan, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Cook Islands and Niue. Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo as a state, although with the Brussels Agreement of 2013 it has accepted the legitimacy of Kosovar institutions, the entire region is commonly referred to in English simply as Kosovo and in Albanian as Kosova or Kosovë. The name of the plain was applied to the Kosovo Province created in 1864, Albanians refer to Kosovo as Dardania, the name of a Roman province located in Central Balkans that was formed in 284 AD which covered the territory of modern Kosovo. The name is derived from the Albanian word dardha/dardā which means pear, the former Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova had been an enthusiastic backer of a Dardanian identity and the Kosovan flag and presidential seal refer to this national identity. However, the name Kosova remains more widely used among the Albanian population, the official conventional long name of the state is Republic of Kosovo, as defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, and is used to represent Kosovo internationally. This arrangement, which has dubbed the asterisk agreement, was agreed in an 11-point arrangement agreed on 24 February 2012. By the independence declaration in 2008, its long name became Republic of Kosovo. In prehistory, the succeeding Starčevo culture, Vinča culture, Bubanj-Hum culture, the area in and around Kosovo has been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years. During the Neolithic age, Kosovo lay within the area of the Vinča-Turdaş culture which is characterised by West Balkan black, bronze and Iron Age tombs have been found in Metohija. However, life during the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age is not confirmed yet, therefore, until arguments of Paleolithic and Mesolithic man are confirmed, Neolithic man, respectively the Neolithic sites are considered as the chronological beginning of population in Kosovo. From this period until today Kosovo has been inhabited, and traces of activities of societies from prehistoric, ancient, whereas, in some archaeological sites, multilayer settlements clearly reflect the continuity of life through centuries
19.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning the running water. According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them
20.
Montenegro
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Montenegro is a sovereign state in Southeastern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Old Royal Capital. In the 9th century, three Slavic principalities were in the territory of Montenegro, Duklja, roughly corresponding to the half, Travunia, the west, and Rascia. In 1042, archon Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that resulted in the independence of Duklja, Duklja reached its zenith under Vojislavs son, Mihailo, and his grandson Bodin. By the 13th century, Zeta had replaced Duklja when referring to the realm. In the late 14th century, southern Montenegro came under the rule of the Balšić noble family, then the Crnojević noble family, large portions fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire from 1496 to 1878. Parts were controlled by Venice and the First French Empire and Austria-Hungary, from 1515 until 1851, the prince-bishops of Cetinje were the rulers. The House of Petrović-Njegoš ruled the country from 1697 to 1918, from 1918, it was a part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which was succeeded by SFR Yugoslavia in 1945, FR Yugoslavia in 1992, and subsequently by the state union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. On the basis of a referendum held on 21 May 2006. Montenegro is also a candidate negotiating to join the European Union, on 2 December 2015, Montenegro received an official invitation to join NATO, whereby it would be the 29th member country. This invitation was meant to start accession talks. The countrys name in most Western European languages reflects an adaptation of the Venetian Montenegro, many other languages, particularly nearby ones, use their own direct translation of the term black mountain. Examples are the Albanian name for the country, Mali i Zi, the Greek name Μαυροβούνιο, the Chinese name 黑山, all Slavic languages use slight variations on the Montenegrin name Crna Gora, examples include the Czech Černá Hora and the Polish Czarnogóra. Chechen and Ingush people call the country Ӏаьржаламанчоь, the name Crna Gora came to denote the majority of contemporary Montenegro only in the 15th century. The aforementioned region became known as Old Montenegro by the 19th century to distinguish it from the acquired territory of Brda. Its borders have changed little since then, losing Metohija and gaining the Bay of Kotor, the ISO Alpha-2 code for Montenegro is ME and the Alpha-3 Code is MNE. By 1000 BC, a common Illyrian language and culture had spread across much of the Balkans, interaction amongst groups was not always friendly – hill forts were the most common form of settlement – but distinctive Illyrian art forms such as amber and bronze jewellery evolved. In time, the Illyrians established a federation of tribes centred in what is now Macedonia
21.
Yugoslav dinar
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The dinar was the currency of the three Yugoslav states, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1918 and 2003. The dinar was subdivided into 100 para, in the early 1990s, there was severe and prolonged hyperinflation due to a combination of economic mismanagement and criminality. Massive amounts of money were printed, coins became redundant, inflation reached the equivalent of 8. 51×1029% per year. The highest denomination banknote was 500 billion dinars, it was two weeks after it was printed. This hyperinflation caused five revaluations between 1990 and 1994, in there were eight distinct dinari. Six of the eight have been given distinguishing names and separate ISO4217 codes, until 1918, the dinar was the currency of Serbia. It then became the currency of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, circulating alongside the krone in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 1 dinar =4 kronen. The first coins and banknotes bearing the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were issued in 1920, until which time Serbian coins, in 1929, the name of the country changed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and this was reflected on the currency. In 1931, a rate of 56.4 dinara =1 U. S. Dollar was set, which changed to 44 dinara in 1933, in 1937, a tourist exchange rate of 250 dinara =1 British pound was established. In 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded and split up, with the dinar remaining currency in Nedićs Serbia as Serbian dinar), in May 1945, a peg of 50 dinara =1 U. S. dollar was established but was not maintained. On January 1,1966, the first of five revaluations took place and this currency was never very stable, suffering from an inflation rate of 15 to 25 percent per year. In the late 1980s the inflation rate accelerated, causing the currency to be revalued at the beginning of 1990, the second revaluation took place on January 1,1990, at a ratio of 10,000 to 1. During this period, the constituent republics began to leave the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, four of the six republics declared independence and issued their own currencies shortly after. This was the last dinar that bore the coat of arms, Serbian enclaves in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina also issued currencies in dinar, equivalent to and revalued together with the Yugoslav dinar. These were the Krajina dinar and the Republika Srpska dinar, the third revaluation took place on 1 July 1992, at a ratio of 10 to 1. Hyperinflation began to occur during this period of circulation. This dinar was issued in the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, people started to use foreign hard currency, such as Deutschmarks, to mitigate some of the problems of hyperinflation
22.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
23.
Deutsche Bundesbank
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The German Federal Bank, known in German as the Deutsche Bundesbank, is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks. Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB, both the German Federal Bank and the European Central Bank are located in Frankfurt, Germany. It is sometimes referred to as Buba for Bundesbank, while its official abbreviation is BBk, the Bundesbank was established in 1957 and succeeded the Bank deutscher Länder, which introduced the Deutsche Mark on 20 June 1948. Until the euro was introduced in 2002, the German Federal Bank was the central bank of the former Deutsche Mark. Nowadays, the ECB also uses the Bundesbank model, making the concept the foundation of the entire Euro system, the Bundesbank was greatly respected for its control of inflation through the second half of the 20th century. This made the German Mark one of the most respected currencies, the history of the Bundesbank is inextricably linked with the history of the German currency after the Second World War. The currency reform was based on laws enacted by the Allied military government, in preparation, the Western Powers established a new two-tier central bank system in the occupied zones, in its federal structure, it was modeled on the Federal Reserve System of the USA. It comprised the central banks of the states of the West German occupation zones and the Bank deutscher Länder in Frankfurt am Main, the central banks of the Länder acted as central banks within their areas of jurisdiction. The supreme governing body of the central bank system was the Central Bank Council set up at the Bank deutscher Länder. It consisted of a president, the presidents of the banks of the Länder. Amongst other things, the Central Bank Council determined policy on bank rate and minimum reserve policy, open-market policy guidelines, after the negative experience with a central bank subject to government orders, the principle of an independent central bank was established. The Bank deutscher Länder was independent of German political bodies from the start, including the federal German government and it achieved independence from the Allies in 1951. The legislature fulfilled this obligation by passing the Bundesbank Act of 26 July 1957, the central banks of the Länder were now no longer independent note-issuing banks, but became regional headquarters of the Bundesbank, nevertheless retaining the title state central bank. The Central Bank Council remained the supreme decision-making body of the Bundesbank and it was now made up of the presidents of the central banks of the Länder and a board of directors based in Frankfurt. The Central Bank Council decided on the currency and credit policy, as the central executive body of the Bundesbank, the Directorate was responsible for implementing the decisions of the Central Bank Council. The Directorate was made up of the president and the vice-president of the Bundesbank, the central banks of the Länder carried out business falling in their areas independently. The Bundesbank Act explicitly made them responsible for dealings with public bodies, the central Banks of the Länder also controlled the subsidiary bodies, now called branches. Overall management of each Land central bank was in the hands of its board, which as a rule consisted of the president
24.
Bundesdruckerei
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Bundesdruckerei is a German manufacturer for banknotes, stamps, identity cards, passports, visas, driving licences, and vehicle registration certificates. It was founded as Reichsdruckerei in 1879 and existed under this name until 1945 and it expanded into multiple security-related fields after being privatized in 2000. In 2009 it became a state owned enterprise again, in 2015 the Bundesdruckerei has won the request for tender of the International Civil Aviation Organization to provide the ICAO PKD
25.
Giesecke & Devrient
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Giesecke & Devrient is a German company headquartered in Munich that provides banknote and securities printing, smart cards, and cash handling systems. Founded in 1852 by Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient, the firm specialized in high-quality printing, notably currency. From the 1850s to the 1870s the firm printed some of the important biblical editions of Constantin von Tischendorf, the partnerships reputation for quality work was confirmed at the 1867 international exhibition in Paris. Giesecke & Devrient supplied currency during the inflation in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s and it also printed tickets to the 1936 Olympics in Germany and did business with Spain under Franco. Its role in facilitating the destruction of the economy of Zimbabwe through another printers breeding of hyperinflation under Mugabe is well-known, in the modern period, G&D has expanded operations to include banknote processing, smart cards, identification systems, and e-payments. The firm is the second largest supplier of banknotes, with annual revenues of $2.45 billion. They have over 8,000 employees, and some 50 subsidiaries, the company operates printing facilities in Germany, as well as Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. G&D currently supplies Euro notes for the German Bundesbank, and the company supplies banknotes for many other nations, in 1989, the Komori technology for printing banknotes was introduced in Europe when G&D ordered a small printing machine. In 2000, Giesecke & Devrient established its North American headquarters in Dulles, Virginia, the firm produces special paper for use in instruments such as banknotes, checks, bonds, certificates, passports and other identification, and tickets. In Japan, G&D is active in the fields of cards, in November 2009 Giesecke & Devrient announced plans to form a new company with SAP AG and Nokia Corp. named Original1, to deliver product authentication and anti-counterfeiting services globally. The headquarters is in Frankfurt, Germany, Original1 offers security solutions for the entire value chain, including user authentication, end-to-end encryption of the information flow and database encryption. Original1 On-Demand is a product providing a complete solution for brand product protection. As of August 2012, Original1 is in liquidation, the supervisory board dismissed the 3 managing directors with 6 months notice and 6 months severance. The remaining employees were dismissed with 3 months notice and no severance, in June 2008 U. S. officials announced they would not take any action against the firm. It was reported that on 1 July 2008 companys Management Board decided to cease delivering banknote paper to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with immediate effect. The decision was in response to an official request from the German government and calls for international sanctions by the European Union, dr. Notes Bibliography Bender, Klaus W. Moneymakers, the Secret World of Banknote Printing. ISBN 978-3-527-50236-3, OCLC69326754 Faulmann, Karl, illustrirte Geschichte der Buchdruckerkunst, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung ihrer technischen Entwicklung bis zur Gegenwart
26.
Mint (facility)
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A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins that can be used in currency. The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins, in the beginning, hammered coinage or cast coinage were the chief means of coin minting, with resulting production runs numbering as little as the hundreds or thousands. In modern mints, coin dies are manufactured in large numbers, with the mass production of currency, the production cost is weighed when minting coins. For example, it costs the United States Mint much less than 25 cents to make a quarter, metals were well suited to represent wealth, owing to their great intrinsic value and their durability, divisibility and rarity. The first mint was established in Lydia in the 7th century BC, for coining gold, silver. The Lydian innovation of manufacturing coins under the authority of the spread to neighboring Greece. Some of the earliest Greek mints were within city-states on Greek islands such as Crete, at about the same time, coins and mints appeared independently in China and spread to Korea and Japan. The manufacture of coins in the Roman Empire, dating from about the 4th century BC, the origin of the word mint is ascribed to the manufacture of silver coin at Rome in 269 BC at the temple of Juno Moneta. This goddess became the personification of money, and her name was applied both to money and to its place of manufacture, Roman mints were spread widely across the Empire, and were sometimes used for propaganda purposes. The populace often learned of a new Roman Emperor when coins appeared with the new Emperors portrait, Ancient coins were made by casting in moulds or by striking between engraved dies. The Romans cast their larger copper coins in clay moulds carrying distinctive markings, not because they knew nothing of striking, casting is now used only by counterfeiters. The most ancient coins were cast in bulletshaped or conical moulds, the blank or unmarked piece of metal was placed on a small anvil, and the die was held in position with tongs. The reverse or lower side of the received a rectangular mark made by the sharp edges of the little anvil. Subsequently the anvil was marked in ways, and decorated with letters and figures of beasts. The spherical blanks soon gave place to lenticular-shaped ones, the blank was made red-hot and struck between cold dies. One blow was usually insufficient, and the method was similar to that used in striking medals in high relief. With the substitution of iron for bronze as the material for dies, about 300 AD, in the Middle Ages bars of metal were cast and hammered out on an anvil. Portions of the sheets were then cut out with shears
27.
Mint mark
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A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem, if a coin was underweight, or overweight, the mint mark would immediately tell where the coin was minted, and the problem could be located and fixed. Another problem which could occur would be a dishonest mint official debasing the coin, the first mint marks, called Magistrate Marks were developed by the Greeks, and named the Magistrate in charge of producing that coin. Debasing a coin, or otherwise tampering with it, was a serious crime. For example, in 1649, the directors of the Spanish colonial American Mint at Potosi, the initials of the assayer as well as the mint mark were immediate identifiers when the coins were inspected. In some cases the symbols found in the field of ancient Greek coins indicated mints, dAs Alexander the Great conquered territories their mints struck coins with the types he used in Macedon but marked with a local symbol. These mint marks were placed at the bottom of the reverse of the coin, the first part indicates that this was a coin with either SM for Sacra Moneta, M for Moneta, or P for Pecurnia. The second part was an abbreviation of the name of the mint such as ROM for Rome or LON for London, the final part indicated the workshop within the mint. Mint marks continued on copper coinage until the half of the seventh century. Mint names began to appear on French coins under Pepin and became mandatory under Charlemagne, in 1389, Charles IV adopted a system called Secret Points. This scheme placed a dot under the first letter of the legend on coins of Crémieu, under the letter for Romans. In the fifteenth century letters or symbols placed at the end of the legend indicating the mint were used in addition to Secret Points. In 1540, Francis I discontinued Secret Points in favor of a system of letters, A for Paris, B for Rouen, …, Z for Lyon, in the field. He also made it the rule for mint-masters to place their personal marks on coins and this was one of the few royal practices continued by the Republic of France. The mint letters continued until 1898 and the marks, supplemented by the mark of the Chief Engraver, are still used. Some Medieval English coins used mint names, when William III retired hammered coinage, branch mints which helped strike machine made coins to replace it put their initials below his bust. The Royal Mint established branches to coin sovereigns near the sources of gold and these issues show the initials of Sydney, Melbourne, Victoria, and Perth Australia as well as Canada, South Africa, and India. The privately owned Soho Mint obtained a contract to strike royal copper coins with steam presses and put its name on these coins and on coins it minted for other countries
28.
Fixed exchange-rate system
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There are benefits and risks to using a fixed exchange rate. In doing so, the rate between the currency and its peg does not change based on market conditions, the way floating currencies do. A fixed exchange-rate system can also be used as a means to control the behavior of a currency, however, in doing so, the pegged currency is then controlled by its reference value. In other words, a currency is dependent on its reference value to dictate how its current worth is defined at any given time. The central bank provides the assets and/or the foreign currency or currencies which are needed in order to any payments imbalances. In the 21st century, the associated with large economies typically do not fix or peg exchange rates to other currencies. The last large economy to use a fixed exchange system was the Peoples Republic of China which, in July 2005. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism is also used on a basis to establish a final conversion rate against the Euro from the local currencies of countries joining the Eurozone. The gold standard or gold standard of fixed exchange rates prevailed from about 1870 to 1914. The period between the two wars was transitory, with the Bretton Woods system emerging as the new fixed exchange rate regime in the aftermath of World War II. It was formed with an intent to rebuild war-ravaged nations after World War II through a series of currency stabilization programs, the early 1970s saw the breakdown of the system and its replacement by a mixture of fluctuating and fixed exchange rates. Timeline of the exchange rate system, The earliest establishment of a gold standard was in the United Kingdom in 1821 followed by Australia in 1852. Under this system, the value of all currencies was denominated in terms of gold with central banks ready to buy. Each central bank maintained gold reserves as their official reserve asset, for example, during the “classical” gold standard period, the U. S. dollar was defined as 0.048 troy oz. of pure gold. Following the Second World War, the Bretton Woods system replaced gold with the U. S. dollar as the reserve asset. The regime intended to combine binding legal obligations with multilateral decision-making through the International Monetary Fund, the rules of this system were set forth in the articles of agreement of the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. S. Dollar and to exchange rates within 1% of parity by intervening in their foreign exchange markets. In December 1971, the Smithsonian Agreement paved the way for the increase in the value of the price of gold from US$35.50 to US$38 an ounce
29.
Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
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The Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is divided into 100 pfenigs or fenings, and locally abbreviated KM, the convertible mark was established by the 1995 Dayton Agreement. It replaced the Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar, Croatian kuna and Republika Srpska dinar as the currency of Bosnia. Mark refers to the German mark, the currency to which it was pegged at par, the names derive from the German language. Three official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina have adopted German nouns die Mark and der Pfennig as loanwords marka, the Official Gazette of BiH, Official newspaper of FBiH and other official documents recognized pfenig or пфениг as the name of the subdivision. Banknotes of 50 fenings/pfenigs were in circulation from 1998 to 2000 and they were denoted as 50 KONVERTIBILNIH PFENIGA /50 КОНВЕРТИБИЛНИХ ПФЕНИГА, however, the word convertible should never be next to the pfenig because only the mark can be convertible. Coins of 10,20 and 50 pfenigs have been in circulation since 1998, all of them are inscribed ~ feninga / ~ фенинга on the obverse. Misspelling fening/фенинг has never been corrected, and it took that much hold that is now officially adopted, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian have a complicated case system. In addition, it is important to note that use three plural forms. A syllable after a syllable whose vowel is pronounced as a long. These matters should be noted when one uses the names in English. For example, English plural ten pfenigas / ten feningas is incorrect as the final a in BSC plural pfeniga/feninga already indicates the plural, so, ten pfenigs / ten fenings should be used instead. The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina uses fenings as the English plural, likewise, twenty-one markas / two markes / twelve marakas is incorrect, twenty-one marks / two marks / twelve marks should be used instead. In December 1998, coins were introduced in denominations of 10,20 and 50 fenings/pfenigs, coins of 1,2 and 5 marks were introduced later. The coins were designed by Bosnian designer Kenan Zekic and minted at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, in 1998, notes were introduced in denominations of 50 fenings/pfenigs,1 mark,5,10,20,50 and 100 marks. 200-mark notes were added in 2002, whilst the 50-fening/pfenig, 1-, all current notes are valid throughout the country. On the notes of the Republika Srpska, inscriptions are printed in Cyrillic, then Latin script, banknotes, with the exception of the 200-mark note, are printed by the French company Oberthur. The portraits of Ivan Franjo Jukić and Meša Selimović, which are both writers, were featured by consensus between both entities on all 1 and 5 KM notes used between 1998 and 2010
30.
Bulgarian lev
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The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki, in archaic Bulgarian the word lev meant lion, a word which in the modern language became Pringle. The lev was introduced as Bulgarias currency in 1881 with a equal to the French franc. The gold standard was suspended between 1899 and 1906 and suspended again in 1912, until 1916, Bulgarias silver and gold coins were issued to the same specifications as those of the Latin Monetary Union. Banknotes issued until 1928 were backed by gold or silver, in 1928, a new gold standard of 1 lev =10.86956 mg gold was established. During World War II, in 1940, the lev was pegged to the German Reichsmark at a rate of 32.75 leva =1 Reichsmark, with the Soviet occupation in September 1944, the lev was pegged to the Soviet ruble at 15 leva =1 ruble. A series of pegs to the U. S. dollar followed,120 leva =1 dollar in October 1945,286.50 leva in December 1945 and 143.25 leva in March 1947. No coins were issued after 1943, only banknotes were issued until the reform of 1952. Between 1881 and 1884, bronze 2,5 and 20 stotinki, gold 10 and 20 leva were issued in 1894. Bronze 1 stotinka were introduced in 1901, production of silver coins ceased in 1916, with zinc replacing cupro-nickel in the 5,10 and 20 stotinki in 1917. In 1923, aluminum 1 and 2 leva coins were introduced, followed by pieces in 1925. In 1930, cupro-nickel 5 and 10 leva and silver 20,50 and 100 leva were introduced, with coins issued until 1937. In 1940, cupro-nickel 20 and 50 leva were issued, followed, in 1941, in 1943, nickel-clad-steel 5,10 and 50 leva were struck. These were the last coins issued for this version of the lev, in 1885, the Bulgarian National Bank introduced notes for 20 and 50 gold leva, followed in 1887 by 100 gold leva and, in 1890, by 5 and 10 gold leva notes. In 1899,5,10 and 50 silver leva notes were issued, followed by 100 and 500 silver leva in 1906 and 1907,500 gold leva notes were also introduced in 1907. In 1916,1 and 2 silver leva and 1000 gold leva notes were introduced, followed by 2500 and 10,000 gold leva notes in 1919, in 1924,5000 leva notes were issued, the first to lack a metal designation. In 1928, a new series of notes was introduced which gave the denominations solely in leva, denominations introduced were 5,10,20,50,100,500,1000 and 5000 leva. These were followed in 1929 by 200 and 250 leva, in 1930, coins up to 100 leva replaced notes, although 20-lev notes were issued between 1943 and 1950
31.
European Exchange Rate Mechanism
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After the adoption of the euro, policy changed to linking currencies of EU countries outside the eurozone to the euro. The goal was to improve the stability of those currencies, as well as to gain an evaluation mechanism for potential eurozone members and this mechanism is known as ERM II and has superseded ERM. Currently there is just one currency in the ERM II, the Danish krone, the ERM is based on the concept of fixed currency exchange rate margins, but with exchange rates variable within those margins. This is also known as a semi-pegged system, determined intervention and loan arrangements protected the participating currencies from greater exchange rate fluctuations. The euro replaced the ECU1,1 at the exchange rate markets, between 1979 and 1999 the D-Mark functioned as a de facto anchor for the ECU, meaning there was only a minor difference between pegging a currency against the ECU and pegging it against the D-mark. The first enlargement of the eurozone, to Greece, took place on 1 January 2001, all new EU members having joined the bloc after the signing of the Maastricht treaty in 1992 are obliged to adopt the euro under the terms of their accession treaties. However, the last of the five convergence criteria, which need to be complied with in order to qualify for euro adoption, is the exchange rate stability criterion. This requires having been a member of the ERM for a minimum of two years without the presence of severe tensions for the exchange rate. The continued parity between the Irish pound and the pound sterling would have taken the Irish pound outside its agreed band, to fulfil the ERM conditions, the Irish government was required to break the parity of the Irish pound with the pound sterling. The ensuing crash of 16 September 1992 was subsequently dubbed Black Wednesday, there has been some revision of attitude towards this event given the UKs strong economic performance after 1992, with some commentators dubbing it White Wednesday. Some commentators, following Norman Tebbit, took to referring to ERM as an Eternal Recession Mechanism, in August 1993, the margin was expanded to 15% to accommodate speculation against the French franc and other currencies. On 31 December 1998, the European Currency Unit exchange rates of the countries were frozen and the value of the euro. In 1999, ERM II replaced the original ERM, the Greek and Danish currencies were part of the new mechanism, but when Greece joined the euro in 2001, the Danish krone was left at that time as the only participant member. A currency in ERM II is allowed to float within a range of ±15% with respect to a central rate against the euro. In the case of the krone, Danmarks Nationalbank keeps the exchange rate within the range of ±2. 25% against the central rate of EUR1 = DKK7.46038. EU countries that have not adopted the euro are expected to participate for at least two years in the ERM II before joining the eurozone, on 1 May 2004, the ten national central banks of the new member countries became party to the ERM II Central Bank Agreement. The national currencies themselves were to part of the ERM II at dates to be agreed. These states have all joined the eurozone, and hence left ERM II, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia
32.
Euro
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Outside of Europe, a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally,210 million people worldwide as of 2013 use currencies pegged to the euro, the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. The name euro was adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. The euro was introduced to world markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.8252 within two years, it has traded above the U. S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.6038 on 18 July 2008. In July 2012, the euro fell below US$1.21 for the first time in two years, following concerns raised over Greek debt and Spains troubled banking sector, as of 26 March 2017, the euro–dollar exchange rate stands at ~ US$1.07. The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, as an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all states. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, all nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Since 5 January 2002, the central banks and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Euro banknotes do not show which central bank issued them, Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated. The ECB issues 8% of the value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECBs banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs and these liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB. The euro is divided into 100 cents, in Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a side showing the denomination or value. Due to the plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, beginning in 2007 or 2008 the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the Union like Norway
33.
Mark (currency)
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The mark was a currency or unit of account in many nations. It is named for the unit of weight. The word mark comes from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic words, Latinised in 9th century post-classical Latin as marca, marcha, marha or marcus and it was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout Western Europe and often equivalent to eight ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages, as of 2017, the only circulating currency named mark is the Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark. In England the mark never appeared as a coin but was only a unit of account and it was apparently introduced in the 10th century by the Danes. According to 19th-century sources, it was equivalent to 100 pence. In Scotland, the merk Scots was a coin of that value, issued first in 1570. In northern Germany and Scandinavia, the mark was a unit of account, in an attempt to prevent debasement of the currency, the Bank of Hamburg was founded in 1619, after the example of the Bank of Amsterdam. Both these banks established a money of account. The Hamburg unit of account was the mark banco and it was credited in exchange for the sale of bullion or by way of credit against collateral. No coins or banknotes were issued, but accounts were opened showing a credit balance, the account holders could use their credit balances by remittances to other accounts or by drawing bills of exchange against them. These bills circulated and could be transferred by endorsement, and were accepted as payment and this currency proved to be very stable. Following German unification in 1871, the country adopted the German gold mark as its currency in 1873, the name was taken from the mark banco. Coins denominated in gold marks were first issued in 1871, the mark banco was converted into the new gold mark at par. The Bank of Hamburg was incorporated as the Hamburg subsidiary into the newly founded Reichsbank, in 1914, the Reichsbank stopped demanding first-class collateral when providing credit to borrowers. The gold mark became a currency, colloquially referred to as the paper mark. In 1918, the sound money policy was not re-established, and the continuing loose money policy resulted in inflation. In late 1923, when the mark had become virtually worthless, it was replaced by a new currency
34.
Currency
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A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
35.
Bizone
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The Bizone or Bizonia was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones in 1947 during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone on 1 June 1948 the entity became the Trizone, later, on 23 May 1949, the Trizone became the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany. The Western deliveries had started in 1946, consequently, the American military administrator, Lucius D. The states in the Soviet zone had only limited functions, after Potsdam, in the summer of 1945, the Control Commission for Germany – British Element in Bad Oeynhausen created central offices for its zone. After March 1946 the British zonal advisory board was established, with representatives of the states, the offices, political parties, trade unions. As indicated by its name, the advisory board had no legislative power. The Control Commission for Germany – British Element made all decisions with its legislative power and it created its own central bodies headed by a secretariat seated in Stuttgart. France had not participated in the Potsdam Conference, so it felt free to some of the Potsdam Agreements. Therefore, the states in the French zone were given a level of autonomy but under French supervision. On 6 September, at the conference in Stuttgart, US Secretary of State James F, no agreement with the Soviets was possible. Allowing the states in the Soviet zone to govern the central administrations, then subject to the SVAG. The Soviets had begun mass expropriations of entrepreneurs, real estate owners, and banks in September 1945, a process that had continued ever since. The Bizone was the first step in coordinating the policies in at least two zones of occupation in Germany, which up to that time had operated mostly unconnected due the French obstructionism. At the Washington Conference of Foreign Ministers France agreed to merge its zone with the Bizone into the Trizone, the economic management of the two zones was handled by the Administrative Council for the Economy, based in Minden. Later, administrative cooperation expanded, paving the way to a West German rump state, with the Bizone, the foundation for new constitutional and economic developments was laid, cemented by the currency reform of June 1948. On the other hand, Germany was now on a track to the division into an East. On 29 May 1947, the American and British military governments signed an agreement creating an Economic Council for the Bizone, to be based in Frankfurt am Main. Lewkowicz argues that the establishment of the Bizone was the most significant factor in the creation of two blocs in Europe and therefore in the configuration of the Cold War international order
36.
Reichsmark
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The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig. The Mark is an ancient Germanic weight measure, traditionally a half pound, from 1871 to 1918 Germany was called the Kaiserreich, or the Deutsches Reich. Although Germany became a republic in 1919, the term Reich remained part of the official name. The Reichsmark was introduced in 1924 as a permanent replacement for the Papiermark and this was necessary due to the 1920s German inflation which had reached its peak in 1923. The exchange rate between the old Papiermark and the Reichsmark was 1 ℛℳ =1012 Papiermark, the Reichsmark was put on the gold standard at the rate previously used by the Goldmark, with the U. S. dollar worth 4.2 ℛℳ. As the market crash of 1929 expanded into the Great Depression and it retained a gold peg at that time. Hyper inflation ensued to the point it was cheaper to burn reichsmark paper notes than to buy fire wood, a number of companies were created with inadequate capital for their operations and authorized to issue bonds exchangeable at a 1,1 rate for Reichsmarks and sold at a discount. The Reichsbank rediscounted the bills of these companies creating a monetary expansion without formally renouncing the link to gold, Deutsche Gesellschaft für öffentliche Arbeiten AG, founded 1 August 1930, ended up issuing 1.26 billion Reichsmarks of Öffa bills to finance public construction. It formed the model for further fraudulent issues of bills. MEFO was a company that was formed with relatively small amounts of capital that was used to finance German rearmament off the books. It issued bills without backing by its own resources but which were guaranteed redeemable at 1,1 for Reichsmarks for five years by the government, the MEFO bills amounts were considered a state secret and were an important element in the impression that Hitlerian economics was a success. This company essentially created an amount of Reichsmarks off the books. With the unification of Germany and Austria in 1938, the Reichsmark replaced the Schilling in Austria. The rates were as follows, After the Second World War, the Reichsmark continued to circulate in Germany, in practice, massive inflation dating back to the latter stages of the war had rendered the Reichsmark nearly worthless. For all intents and purposes, it was supplanted by a barter economy, the Reichsmark was replaced in June 1948 by the Deutsche Mark in the Trizone and later in the same year by the East German Mark in East Germany. Tenenbaum of the US military government, and was executed abruptly on 21 June 1948, three days later, the new currency also replaced the Reichsmark in the three Western sectors of Berlin. In November 1945, the Reichsmark was superseded by the Allied Military Schilling in Austria, in 1947 a local currency was introduced in the Saar. In 1924, coins were introduced in denominations of 1,2,5,10, and 50 Reichspfennig, the 1 and 2 Reichspfennig were struck in bronze, and depicting a wheat sheaf
37.
Coin
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A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
38.
Eurozone
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The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is a monetary union of 19 of the 28 European Union member states which have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender. The monetary authority of the eurozone is the Eurosystem, the other nine members of the European Union continue to use their own national currencies, although most of them are obliged to adopt the euro in future. Other EU states are obliged to join once they meet the criteria to do so, no state has left, and there are no provisions to do so or to be expelled. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have formal agreements with the EU to use the euro as their official currency and issue their own coins. The ECB, which is governed by a president and a board of the heads of central banks. The principal task of the ECB is to keep inflation under control, the Eurogroup is composed of the finance ministers of eurozone states, but in emergencies, national leaders also form the Eurogroup. Since the financial crisis of 2007–08, the eurozone has established and used provisions for granting loans to member states in return for the enactment of economic reforms. The eurozone has also enacted some limited fiscal integration, for example in peer review of each others national budgets, the issue is political and in a state of flux in terms of what further provisions will be agreed for eurozone change. In 1998 eleven member states of the European Union had met the euro convergence criteria, Greece qualified in 2000 and was admitted on 1 January 2001 before physical notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002 replacing all national currencies. Between 2007 and 2015, seven new states acceded, the 2012 data above of eurozone states were published by World Bank in May 2014. Latvia and Lithuania were not in the eurozone in 2012, the euro replaced the ECU1,1 at the exchange rate markets, on 1 January 1999. During 1979-1999, the D-Mark functioned as a de facto anchor for the ECU, the first enlargement of the eurozone, to Greece, took place on 1 January 2001, one year before the euro had physically entered into circulation. The next enlargements were to states which joined the EU in 2004, and then joined the eurozone on 1 January in the noted, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia. All new EU members joining the bloc after the signing of the Maastricht treaty in 1992 are obliged to adopt the euro under the terms of their accession treaties, nine countries are EU members but do not use the euro. Before joining the eurozone, a state must spend two years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, as of January 2017, only the National Central Bank of Denmark participates in ERM II. Denmark and the United Kingdom obtained special opt-outs in the original Maastricht Treaty, both countries are legally exempt from joining the eurozone unless their governments decide otherwise, either by parliamentary vote or referendum. The other seven countries are obliged to adopt the euro in future and they should join as soon as they fulfil the convergence criteria, which include being part of ERM II for two years. Sweden, which joined the EU in 1995 after the Maastricht Treaty was signed, is required to join the eurozone, Interest in joining the eurozone increased in Denmark, and initially in Poland, as a result of the 2008 financial crisis
39.
Council of the European Union
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The Council of the European Union is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is part of the essentially bicameral EU legislature and represents the governments of the EUs member states. It is based in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, Belgium, the Council meets in 10 different configurations of 28 national ministers. The continuity between presidencies is provided by an arrangement under which three successive presidencies, known as Presidency trios, share common political programmes, the Foreign Affairs Council is however chaired by the Unions High Representative. Its decisions are made by qualified majority voting in most areas, usually where it operates unanimously, it only needs to consult the Parliament. In a few limited areas the Council may initiate new EU law itself, the Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. The Secretariat is divided into seven directorates-general, each administered by a director-general, the Council first appeared in the European Coal and Steel Community as the Special Council of Ministers, set up to counterbalance the High Authority. The original Council had limited powers, issues relating only to coal and steel were in the Authoritys domain, as a whole, the Council only scrutinised the High Authority. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome established two new communities, and with two new Councils, the Council of the European Atomic Energy Community and the Council of the European Economic Community. However, due to objections over the power of the Authority, their Councils had more powers. In 1965 the Council was hit by the empty chair crisis, due to disagreements between French President Charles de Gaulle and the Commissions agriculture proposals, among other things, France boycotted all meetings of the Council. This halted the Councils work until the impasse was resolved the following year by the Luxembourg compromise, although initiated by a gamble of the President of the Commission, Walter Hallstein, who later on lost the Presidency, the crisis exposed flaws in the Councils workings. In 1993, the Council adopted the name Council of the European Union and that treaty strengthened the Council, with the addition of more intergovernmental elements in the three pillars system. However, at the time the Parliament and Commission had been strengthened inside the Community pillar. The Treaty of Lisbon abolished the system and gave further powers to Parliament. It also merged the Councils High Representative with the Commissions foreign policy head, the development of the Council has been characterised by the rise in power of the Parliament, with which the Council has had to share its legislative powers. The Parliament has often provided opposition to the Councils wishes and this has in some cases led to clashes between both bodies with the Councils system of intergovernmentalism contradicting the developing parliamentary system and supranational principles. The primary purpose of the Council is to act as one of the two chambers of the EUs legislative branch, the chamber being the European Parliament
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1998)
Montenegro (1999–2002, in paralel with the yugoslav dinar until 2000)
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