1,000 German mark note, sealed in red. Until the outbreak of World War I, the German mark, introduced in 1871, was on the gold standard. The war forced Germany to abandon the gold standard, and currency notes issued after 1914 were derisively termed "Papiermarks" to reflect the absence of the gold standard. The Papiermark experienced severe hyperinflation from 1921-1923, and was replaced in 1923 by the Rentenmark. At least one source claims that red-sealed Papiermarks were printed from 1914-1918, the green-sealed, from 1918-1922.