The average amount of a
German mark purchase - $156 million equivalent - was larger than atypical sale of foreign exchange, but was not substantially different from the average purchase of yen.
Also on This Day: 1440: Eton College received itsfirst charter; 1878: The obelisk of Thothmes III, 'Cleopatra's needle', was erected on the Thames Embankment, London; 1923: As the
German mark collapsed, pounds 1 was equal to 600 million marks;1953: Senator John F Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier; 1960: MOTs for cars were introduced in the UK; 2001: Downing Street was evacuated and the highest security measures were taken in London following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The ECB was also urged on November 18 "to spare no effort to guarantee a smooth changeover to Euro notes and coins " outside the Euro zone and particular in Eastern Europe where the
German Mark is now the foreign currency of choice.
The chief European competitor to the dollar traditionally has been the
German mark.
Support of the Dollar-Mark Exchange Rate by Broad
German Mark Weakness
The most donated currencies have been the French franc, Spanish peseta,
German mark and Dutch guilder.
The once mighty
German mark and eight other European currencies spent their last day as real money yesterday before midnight turned them into souvenirs of the era before the euro.
The
German mark will be replaced in December 31, 2001 by the Euro.
The
German mark may come under downward pressure against the dollar in view of the strong ties between Russia and Germany, and the mark's weakness could spill over into yen-dollar transactions, the ministry officials said.
Against the
German mark and the French franc, the pound has soared nearly 30 per cent to 2.
