Hi
I think we have some German members and some that live in Europe who may have some knowledge of German banks.
I collect watches in a small way, I have a few unusual ones. The watch in question is a Pratina, theres an umlat I can't reproduce.
Anyway on the case back there is the engraving VolksBank over Erding e6, and two sets of numbers, one set I believe to be a six digit serial number but the other is in a much finer font and not entirely straight. That number has four digits then a wide space followed by two more digits.
This is a bit of a mystery watch, it keeps excellent time and seems to have been worn very little.
I'm wondering if it was a company issue to employees or a gift to new depositors.
Could one of the numbers be that of a numbered account or a PIN number?
Any information will be helpful.
Ha! Ha! Erding Zentrum (near Munich International Airport) is only about 29 kilometres from where I live in Munich (although it has been 2 and a half years of Pandemic since I have been back there). My German bank account numbers have always been significantly longer than 6 digits. ALL the German bank account numbers I have ever seen in over 60 years, were longer than 6 digits. (Same for all my Dutch, Danish, Canadian and American accounts I've had, or ever seen. And I can assure you that account numbers at Volksbank are also longer than 6 digits.
But, regardless, I really doubt that a bank would place the bank account number and PIN number on a gift to the recipient, who was either one of their employees or a new client. As far as I know from Dutch, German and Danish bank accounts, PIN numbers assigned to account holders, are generated randomly, and assigned by machine, and placed into their mailing envelope addressed to the new client's address by machine, so that NO employees of that bank ever see them connected with the client name. I've been told by bank employees that no bank employee knows PIN numbers of any client. They are exclusively for use by the client in transactions. And even if the client wants to make a transaction physically inside a bank branch where he is unknown, and use his or her PIN issued as additional proof that he/she is the bonafide owner of the account, the bank employee always looks in the other direction, or walks far enough away to not be able to see which four keys the client is pressing on the transaction machine.
In any case, I am guessing that no sane watch owner would want to have his or her bank account number AND related PIN number for that account engraved or stamped onto a watch OR its case, which also lists the name of that bank. So, why would the bank have that done? I would guess that the serial number is from the watch company that manufactured it, and so, it is, basically the production number assigned to that watch. Maybe the 4 digits dash and 2 more digits represents the production batch number for that watch, or possibly the first 4 digits mark the day and month it was produced, and the last 2 are the year? You should be able to tell that by what those 6 numbers are.
I would guess that it was a gift by Volksbank (of Erding) to a retiring employee.
I looked up "Volksbank gifts of watches to retiring employees" in German language on German Google, and found nothing. But, then, I'm not very conversant on the best methods of making Internet searches. I am not sure I would have the nerve to speak with someone at Volksbank to ask them to direct me to finding out about their policy of gifting watches to their retiring employees, even if I were there now, or when I return there next Spring. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who works at Volksbank. Otherwise I would run this question by him or her.
Good luck with your inquiries.
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Topic: German bank question VolksBank eg e6 Erding? (Read 1458 times)
