:secret:Anyone got any original DDR (Deutches Democratic Republic) banknotes? I have heard they are very scarce due to the destruction of East German currency in July 1990 to 2002.. With the Monetary, Economic and Social Union of Germany on 1 July 1990 (in preparation for German reunification on 3 October 1990) the Deutsche Mark became the currency of East Germany. Around 4500 tonnes of now-obsolete East German coins & banknotes were destroyed down at the Rackwitz metal works in 1990. Most of the paper money was placed into storage in 1990/91, but destroyed in 2002 following a theft. Many examples of notes and coins, however, remain in private hands. Almost all the paper money of the GDR (about 100 billion Mark, or 620 million banknotes with a volume of 4,500 m3 (160,000 cu ft, about 300 boxcars)), including all the currency collected at the time of the monetary union and the never-used 200 and 500 Mark banknotes, was placed into storage in 1990 and 1991 in two 300 m (1000 ft) long sandstone caverns in the Thekenberge near Halberstadt. In total, 3,000 tons of banknotes, passbooks, and checks were stored there, having been brought by military convoy from the Staatsbank der DDR in Berlin. The currency became the property of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) in 1994 through its merger with the Staatsbank Berlin (the post-reunification name for the Staatsbank der DDR). The 13 km (8 mile) tunnel system had been built by prisoners of war at the end of World War II, and used by the National People's Army under the code name "Malachit", or camp complex KL-12 NVA-Nr.16/630. It was the bunker with the largest floor space, and was used for the safeguarding of devices and munitions that would be needed for war. The money was protected from theft by two metre thick concrete walls and heavy steel doors. For cost reasons, the money was left to rot under the natural humidity, but it was further covered with gravel. In July 2001, it was discovered that two Halberstadt residents had gained entry to the tunnel system through an unsecured opening and made off with numerous banknotes. The two, aged 24 and 26 were convicted of the crime and sentenced to four months in prison and three years of probation. Furthermore, they had to pay 120 € (about US$164) to a non-profit organisation. The appearance among collectors of uncirculated 200 and 500 Mark notes, and of the never-issued military currency, is attributed to this theft. Because of the theft and the slowness of the rotting, the KfW then decided to burn the old currency. Between April and June 2002, 298 containers of the currency remains were burned in an incinerator (6 containers per day) along with household refuse. The last container was burned on 25 June 2002.
