The Mark was the currency of the colony

Colony

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 of German New Guinea

German New Guinea

German New Guinea was the first part of the German colonial empire. It was a protectorate from 1884 until 1914 when it fell to Australia following the outbreak of the First World War. It consisted of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups...

 between 1884 and 1915. It was equal to the German Mark

German gold mark

The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...

, which was also legal tender in the colony.

Initially, only German currency circulated. This was supplemented in 1894 by coins issued specifically for New Guinea. These coins were demonetized on April 15, 1911 in exchange for the German Mark, the only legal tender after that date.

In 1914, during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, German New Guinea was quickly occupied by Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. That year, the Australian authorities issued Treasury notes denominated in marks. In 1915, the Mark was replaced by the Australian pound

Australian pound

The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...

.

Coins

In 1894, the Neu-Guinea Companie issued bronze 1, 2 and 10 Pfennig and silver ½, 1, 2 and 5 Mark coins, followed by gold 10 and 20 Mark pieces in 1895.

Banknotes

Between 1914 and 1915, Treasury Banknotes of New Guinea

Banknotes of New Guinea

Banknotes were issued in New Guinea in late 1914 after Australian forces took over German New Guinea.These extremely rare notes are denominated in New Guinean marks, as opposed to German New Guinean marks...

were issued for 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 marks. All are extremely rare today.