German 500 Deutsche Mark June 1977 **V2392199G BANKNOTE Start Price USD 325.00 Current Price USD 330.00 Time Left - Bid Count 2 Buy It Now Price USD 379.99 Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, September 03, 2008 End Time Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Location Oakland, New Jersey See more about 'German 500 Deutsche Mark June 1977 **V2392199G BANKNOTE' Description This auction is for a RARE June 1977 German Deutsche Mark.  The face value is 500DM, but as a collectable the value is much more.  This has a serial number of V2392199G which was issued by the Deutsche Bundersbank.  This mark appears to have been torn on the bottom left .  Along the upper edge there are creases and some small tears.  There is a strip of tape which runs about an inch along the top back.  There is a strip of tape which runs about 2 inches along the bottom front.  There are small creases and some small tears along the bottom.  The corners are folded.  The coloring is excellent on both sides.  This is not in uncirculated condition. I am not a collector or dealer, however I have seen similar auctions on ebay with the same Deutsche Mark for $200 more than my auction.  Please ask any questions prior to bidding.  If need be I can take additional pictures.   Here are some additional points of information pertaining to this Deutsche Mark which I obtained from Banknotes of West Germany (1944-2001) written by Leo Schulz  500 Deutsche Mark 1977 Reference: Pick FRG 35b / Ro 279 Issuer: Bundesbank Frankfurt/Main Issue date: 1 June 1977 Size: 17 cm * 8.5 cm Description: See Ro 267. Signatures: Emminger, Pöhl Bundesbank 1957 - 1990 On 1 August 1957 the Deutsche Bundesbank replaced the Bank deutscher Länder as central bank for West Germany (FRG). It became the new authority to issue the banknotes for the country. These continued to be denominated in Deutsche Mark. Initially the notes issued by the Bank deutscher Länder continued to be valid and indeed were printed and issued for some time. But the Bundesbank aimed to replace these old bills as soon as possible with its own banknotes. The planning, design and production of these new notes, however, took several years to complete. The Bundesbank decided to create the new series with bills of the following denominations: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 DM. In many aspects the design of the new banknotes was to follow the traditions introduced by the Reichsbank. Each of the denominations should show a specific portrait of a historic German personality. In 1958 the Bundesbank invited six designers and the two printers that were supposed to produce the notes to create design proposals for the whole of the new series. Early 1959 the Bundesbank had received all ten proposals (the Bundesdruckerei submitted three different designs). In the end the design of Hermann Eidenbenz from Hamburg was chosen to be used for the creation of the new banknotes. The design of Max Bittrof (the designer of the previous issue) was chosen for a reserve series that was never issued. The Bundesdruckerei in Frankfurt was asked to produce the 10, 50 and 500 DM notes. They were engraved by Egon Falz and Hans-Joachim Fuchs. The remainder of the series (5, 20, 100 and 1,000 DM) was contracted to the Typographisches Institut Giesecke & Devrient in Munich. Here the engraver was José Lopez. The paper for the production of the bills had to be imported from a British company initially. The successful monetary policy of the Bundesbank caused the Deutsche Mark to be a stable and trusted currency until its replacement by the Euro on 1 January 2002. All bills can still be exchanged into Euro at the Bundesbank at a rate of 1.95583 DM for 1 Euro. The Bundesbank promises to carry out this exchange infinitely. The collector's value of any of these bills is therefore at least as much as half of it's face value in Euro (e.g. 10 DM has at least a value of about 5 Euros). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. shipping is $5.00 (non insured) Worldwide shipping is $6.00 (non insured) Insurance is optional, but additional.  I would advise getting insurance to protect against lost or damaged goods, considering the value of this note.  Insurance rates vary depending on the final value of the auction and destination. Figure insurance costs will run between $20 and $30 for overseas shipping.  USPS upgrades the shipping priority automatically over a certain amount of insurance, this is why the price is higher.  I only accept paypal.  Shipping insurance for international sales will be calculated at the close of the auction. example of International insurance costs for a previous DM note I sold on ebay = USA to Belgium = $28.00 (includes $450 insurance) arrival in 7 business days.    Good Luck   Place a Bid!