Most of the Western world at this point in time has their currencies on the gold standard and accordingly pegged to the US dollar, something known as the "Bretton Woods" system.

West Germany uses the Deutsche Mark (DM), with DM 1 equal to $0.25, making currency conversion pretty easy. While not strictly accurate (it's more like 1.2), an easy rule of thumb for back converting prices is that 1 Euro today is equivalent to the purchasing power of DM 1 in 1967. The Mark, the world's second reserve currency, is split into 100 pfennings.

The Mark comes in notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 marks; the first one and last two are rarely seen. Coins are available in 1 pf, 2 pf, 5 pf, 10 pf, 50 pf, DM 1, DM 2 and DM 5.

With credit cards pretty much non-existent outside of the US, Canada and the UK, most transactions are conducted by cash or cheque. While wire transfer is around, most employees receive their money in literal pay packets made up to the penny/cent/pfennig/centime etc; vehicles carrying this money are natural targets for robbery. Savings and current accounts exist, with holders literally having a book that is updated with the amounts by a bank. Those going abroad often take traveller's cheques with them as an insurance against theft; these can be replaced if lost or stolen.

The currencies of the Soviet bloc are not accepted in the West; indeed, they generally cannot be taken out of the countries. The need for 'hard currency' for imports means that visitors to those countries often have to make compulsory exchanges for money they have to spend in country or deposit at a local bank when they leave; the exchange rates (such as a 1:1 rate between West German and East German mark) bear little resemblance to 'real' rates. Those willing to take the legal risk may find better rates on the black market. In addition, there are special hard currency only shops closed to normal citizens where duty-free Western goods may be bought; there is also a black market for these.