Retiree flushes wads of cash down toilet
Man mistakenly thought German mark notes were worthless in euro age
BERLIN - A retiree in northern Germany flushed some 30,000 marks (euro15,300, US$18,900) down the toilet, believing the old bank notes were worthless, police said.
Officials were alerted by a blocked pipe in the northern city of Kiel. A cleaning company employee extracted soggy bundles of bank notes, but more money got away as the water started flowing again.
Investigators then discovered that the retiree had reported a blocked pipe at his house the same day. They visited the "slightly bewildered" man at his apartment, and he confirmed that he had flushed the money away, a police statement issued late Wednesday said.
The 64-year-old "was of the opinion that mark notes no longer had any value," it added. He still had another 30,000 marks at the apartment, as well as 14,000 euros (US$17,300) in euro bills.
Police accompanied the retiree to a bank, where he deposited the money.
Euro notes and coins replaced 12 national currencies in 2002. Europeans can still exchange the old money at their central banks.
Man mistakenly thought German mark notes were worthless in euro age
BERLIN - A retiree in northern Germany flushed some 30,000 marks (euro15,300, US$18,900) down the toilet, believing the old bank notes were worthless, police said.
Officials were alerted by a blocked pipe in the northern city of Kiel. A cleaning company employee extracted soggy bundles of bank notes, but more money got away as the water started flowing again.
Investigators then discovered that the retiree had reported a blocked pipe at his house the same day. They visited the "slightly bewildered" man at his apartment, and he confirmed that he had flushed the money away, a police statement issued late Wednesday said.
The 64-year-old "was of the opinion that mark notes no longer had any value," it added. He still had another 30,000 marks at the apartment, as well as 14,000 euros (US$17,300) in euro bills.
Police accompanied the retiree to a bank, where he deposited the money.
Euro notes and coins replaced 12 national currencies in 2002. Europeans can still exchange the old money at their central banks.