Bonn courts A banknote or a work of art?

Bonn · In an unusual case, a Berlin artist tried to sue Deutsche Post for the return of a postcard made from a Euro banknote.

What is money? It is a question that has been bothering Berlin artist Sebastian Siechold for a long time. To find out, the belligerent artist transformed banknotes, among other things, and sent them as postcards to test what would happen to his property in the post.

In 2008 he typed a legal definition of ownership onto a banknote with an old typewriter, stuck it onto some cardboard, addressed this “money-postcard” to himself and paid Euro 4.40 postage. Siechold never received it. Deutsche Post confiscated the art postcard saying it was a banknote and so could not be delivered under their general terms and conditions. The 34-year-old received a cheque for Euro 10 as compensation.

The case came before the Bonn local and then district court. Siechold wanted to sue the Bonn-based Deutsche Post for the return of his artwork together with Euro 147,56 in legal costs and applied for legal aid. If the banknote postcard no longer existed, he demanded Euro 1000 in damages, as, in the artist’s view, the card was without question his property.

The artist claimed that through its transformation the banknote had lost its function as a means of payment. It was clearly a postcard and should have been delivered correctly. Further, the shipment retained by Deutsche Post was an artwork, for which collectors of “money art” would pay at least Euro 250. Whether a banknote or a work of art, Deutsche Post said in its statement that it was not liable for postcards. This is also stated in its terms and conditions.

The Bonn judges did not need to debate the question whether the postcard was money or art. The complaint had been lodged nearly seven years too late and so was barred by the statute of limitations. (Original text: Ulrike Schödel. Translated by Kate Carey.)

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