The Mark and the Kaiserreich : Cosmopolitan or National Currency?

This paper examines the introduction of the gold-based Mark currency in Germany in the 1870s in the context of debates about international monetary reform, and the introduction of national moneys, as well as in the context of national political and economic integration in Germany. It looks at the institutional accompaniments of national money, and the contentious debate about the gold standard as an international mechanism. It concludes that by the early twentieth century some influential analysts and political figures were criticizing the gold standard and advocating a more national approach to money