Pfennig

pfennig

1. a former German monetary unit worth one hundredth of a Deutschmark

2. (formerly) a monetary unit worth one hundredth of an East German ostmark

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Pfennig 

a German coin used for small change; it first appeared during the eighth century.

After the introduction of the mark as the standard monetary unit of Germany in 1871, the pfennig was equal to 1/100 of a mark. It was minted of silver, bronze, and nickel. With the proclamation of the reichsmark as the monetary unit in 1924, the pfennig acquired the name “reichspfennig”; it was minted of bronze. In 1948, after a separate monetary reform in West Germany and a monetary reform in East Germany in response, all the old pfennigs were taken out of circulation. New pfennigs were turned out that were equal, respectively, to 1/100 of the mark of the German Democratic Republic and were minted of aluminum and to 1/100 of the mark of the Federal Republic of Germany and were minted of copper and iron.