I was wondering the same thing and did some searching. It turns out the mark is still exchangeable to Euro, fixed at 1.95583 marks to EUR. As of 2012, there were billions of marks supposedly still in circulation. Not directly related to the GP comment, just interesting IMO. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527023043738045775209...

That's the whole point! The monetary union means the EUR (the "new" mark) is lower (from a German standpoint) than it would be should it be trading separately. Having Greece in the EU is an ADVANTAGE to German manufacturers. Greece is "passing on" its currency advantage to Germany.

See what just happened to the CHF when the peg lifted.