Hamburger Bank

About Hamburger Bank

The Hamburger Bank was founded in 1619 in Hamburg, modeled on the Bank of Amsterdam. It was a public giro bank that accepted deposits and facilitated payments between merchants. Hamburg was a major commercial center in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Hamburger Bank weathered numerous crises including the Napoleonic occupation. The bank maintained its own currency, the Mark Banco, which was more stable than circulating coins. The Mark Banco became a trusted unit of account in international trade. The bank was absorbed into the Reichsbank in 1875 after German unification. The Hamburger Bank pioneered the concept of bank money being more reliable than physical coinage.