On 1 July 1990, the queue at a savings-bank branch in East Berlin's Hellersdorf district wrapped around the entire block. By 10 a.m., the first one million Deutsche Marks had been paid out and the branch had to await replenishment. Passports were stamped to prevent people collecting twice.
A national monetary union was broken down into the cash and identity checks available at each counter. A temporary limit of 2,000 marks per person, passport stamps and the arrival of armoured deliveries determined the line's movement. The transition to a new currency became a physical order outside one bank door.