Nostalgic Germans Still Keeping $8Bln in Deutsche Marks: Reports

BERLIN, December 25 (Sputnik) — Many Germans are still holding on to the deutsche mark, their country's old currency, more than a decade after it was replaced by the euro, Spiegel Online reported Thursday, citing the Bundesbank.

According to an opinion poll commissioned by Postbank, 74 percent of those clinging on to the currency are keeping it for sentimental reasons, while 24 percent see collecting old currency as a good investment. Others have simply forgotten where they have stashed it.

The Bundesbank, the country’s central bank, estimates that about 12.6 billion marks worth 6.6 billion euros ($8 billion), are still in circulation in Germany. On average, this means that Germany's 81 million citizens still hold on to some 160 marks each.

The deutsche mark emerged as the official currency of West Germany in 1948 and served as the currency of the unified Germany until 2002, when it was replaced by euro. The Bundesbank has guaranteed that all old currency may be changed into euro indefinitely, with more than 100 million marks changed in 2014 alone.

But according to the Bundesbank, 55 percent of old German coins are still unaccounted for, compared to just 4 percent of banknotes.

At the same time, stories about fortunes hidden inside bathroom walls and cellars are not uncommon in Germany. Thousands of marks were, for instance, once found wrapped in a plastic bag under the old bathtub of a German pensioner during renovation works.