Hyperinflation Collection

 This collection of seven high denomination banknotes catalogues some of the worst cases of hyperinflation in modern history. The set includes:

• Turkish 1 million lira (2000's)
• Argentinian 1 million pesos (1980's)
• Croatian 50 billion dinara (1990's)
• Weimar Germany 50 million marks (1924)
• Yugoslavian 500 billion dinara (1993)
• Zimbabwean 1 billion dollars (2008)
• Hungarian 1 billion pengo (1946)

When the supply of money drastically expands, the value of the currency plummets. Banks shutter their windows. Life savings vanish overnight. Fixed incomes become meaningless. Even transporting money becomes an arduous process. In Germany in 1923, wheelbarrows were used to carry the necessary banknotes to the store to buy a loaf of bread. In Argentina in 1989, currency was used to paper the walls, because it was cheaper to procure than actual wallpaper.

This horrible economic death spiral is called hyperinflation, defined as a monthly rate of inflation in excess of 50 percent. This is a chaotic period of economic upheaval, when fixed incomes become worthless, when wheelbarrows are required to transport paper money to the market for simple transactions, when restaurants write menu prices in pencil because they change every hour.

The banknotes comes with a flexible archival document holder for preservation and handling. A Certificate of Authenticity is also included.