Are my pre WWII German bank notes still good?

Question

When going through some old family papers, I found some German Bank Notes from the early 1920's. I heard that they would still be valid and accruing interest as long as they pre-date the n**i regime. Are they still good and if so, how could I redeem them?

Answer 1

You cannot use them on the streets in Germany, however you can sell them on E-bay or to a private collector.  You can also take them to a Deutsch Bank, however they will buy them at face value plus interest.  This will be A LOT less then what a private collector would buy them for.  Do an E-bay search for the same thing.  This way you can get an idea of how much they are actually worth.

Answer 2

In a sense it does not matter. They are likely of more value to collectors than to an equivalent value.

I would suggest that you take photos and place it on Ebay. Checkout the best category in advance, but if the bills are of value those who know will use the market to bid it to a price that is often even above actual value (due to the auction process.)

If you insist on knowing the actual value you can ask any mainstream German bank. A good starting point is a bank called Sparkasse.

As for value accruing you can forget about it. You will be lucky if you get anything at all. Best bet is to sell as a collector's item.

Answer 3

No, but you may be able to sell them on eBay.  Some have recently sold there, but more as an artifact than actual face value!