Alvak Mark

The Alvak Mark (Goetic: [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈmaɐ̯k], "Alvakische Mark"), abbreviated "AVM", and symbolized as ℳ, is the official currency of Alva since 1981, replacing the Reichsmark.

One Alvak Mark is divided into 100 Pfennig.

In Goetia
A mark had been the currency of the Goetic Empire since its original unification in 1833. Before that time, the different Goetic states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing ​16 2⁄3 grams of pure silver. Although the mark was based on gold rather than silver, a fixed exchange rate between the Vereinsthaler and the mark of 3 marks = 1 Vereinsthaler was used for the conversion.

Post-unification (18xx-1925)
The first mark, known as the Goldmark, was introduced in 18xx. With the outbreak of the Grand Campaigns, the mark was taken off the gold standard. The currency thus became known as the Papiermark, especially as high inflation, then hyperinflation occurred and the currency became exclusively made up of paper money. The Papiermark was replaced by the Reichsmark (ℛℳ) in 1924. These changes were applied in Goetia and its colonies.

Interwar era
As Goetia fell to communist insurrection, its colonies of Neustrien, Schangau, and Alvaland were left floating in uncertainty. Neustrien was incorporated into the Akitei Confederation as the Imperial Akitei Protectorate of Shimakawa, and from then on would use the Akitei Imperial Kia as its currency. Schangau, although de jure part of Alva despite its geographic distance, implemented its own currency in 1925, the Schangauer Mark, which was used until Schangau's incorporation into Liaotian Confederacy in 1934. Alvaland had gained independence in 1920 with the successful passing of the Patriation Act but kept close ties with Goetia until its downfall in 1925.

With the successful defence of Alva, the Reichsmark stayed as the currency of the country until the currency reforms of 1981.

Currency Reforms of 1981
The Alvakische Mark was officially introduced on Saturday, June 20, 1981, by Dimosthenis Andrelis. The old Reichsmark was exchanged for the new currency at a rate of ℳ 1 = ℛℳ 1 for the essential currency such as wages, payment of rents etc., and ℳ 1 = ℛℳ 10 for the remainder in private non-bank credit balances, with half-frozen. Large amounts were exchanged for ℛℳ 10 to 65 Pfennig (symbolized as ₰). In addition, each person received a per capita allowance of ℳ 60 in two parts, the first being ℳ 40 and the second ℳ 20.

The introduction of the new currency was intended to protect Alva from an anticipated second wave of inflation, the first of which had occurred only years before with the Yindong Crises.

Banknotes
The first paper money issued in Alva denominated in Marks were Goetic Army bills, issued between 1853 and 1855. Alvak Mark banknotes were later issued by the chartered banks starting in the 1860s, by several pre-independence colonial governments (most notably the Province of Victoria in 1866), and after independence, by the Alvak government starting in 1925. Some municipalities also issued notes, most notably interwar depression scrip during the 1930s.

On July 3, 1934, with only 8 chartered banks still issuing notes, the Alvakische Bank was founded. This new government agency became the sole issuer of all federal notes. It began issuing notes in denominations of ℳ1, ℳ2, ℳ5, ℳ10, ℳ20, ℳ25, ℳ50, ℳ100, ℳ500 and ℳ1000. In 1944, the chartered banks were prohibited from issuing their own currency, with the Imperial Bank of Alva and the Bank of Neu-Amden among the last to issue notes.

Significant design changes to the notes have occurred since 1925, with new series designs introduced in 1950, 1981, 2001, and 2011. In June 2005, newly designed notes printed on a polymer substrate, as opposed to the cotton fibre, were announced; the first of these polymer notes, the ℳ500, ℳ200, ℳ100 bills, began circulation on January 20, 2011, the ℳ50 bill began circulation on February 26, 2011, the ℳ20 denomination began circulation on October 7, 2011, and the ℳ5 and ℳ10 denominations began circulation on November 12, 2011.

Since 1935, all banknotes are printed by the Alvastadt-based Alvak Bank Note Company under contract to the Alvakische Bank. The Alvak Bank Note Company is the sole printer of Alvak banknotes.

All banknotes from series prior to the current polymer series are now considered unfit for circulation due to their lack of any modern security features, such as a metallic stripe. Financial institutions must return the banknotes to the Alvakische Bank, which will destroy them. Individuals may keep the banknotes indefinitely.

Over the course of its circulation, the Mark has had 11 series of banknotes, issued in four different stages (determined by redenominations). A 12th series will be in production by late January 2021.