Description

East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR), was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. From 1949 to 1990, it administered the region of Germany that was occupied by Soviet forces at the end of World War II. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it; as a result, West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR. The German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, becoming a fully sovereign state again.

In 1969 brass 20 Pfennig coins were issued partly because pay telephones had a standard charge of 20 Pf. and were having problems with smaller aluminium coins jamming due to their light weight.