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ZGoogol$
large denomination note to solve the inflation crisis in Zimbabwe | |
"9 Oct 2008 ... Zimbabwe's official inflation rate has surged to 231000000%..." What does that mean? Best to ask their lunatic leader Robert Mugabe, who in turn blames everyone but himself for the chronic ills of this once prosperous country, as his walnut sized brain continues to shrivel and fester.
They
have just printed the world's first 100 trillion dollar note! (see link) How long will it be before even this bizarre amount of money pays for nothing bigger than a paperclip?
It's clear to me that they need to bite the bullet and issue the ultimate bank note, so let me introduce The ZGoogol$. For those who don't know, a googol is the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros.
The ZGoogol$ would be the doomsday currency. As collector's items alone, they would simply be offered for sale/exchange at rate of one ZGoogol$ for a single US dollar. Who wouldn't want one?
Zimbabwean 100 trillion dollar note
http://edition.cnn....6/zimbawe.currency/
[xenzag, Jan 21 2009]
Googol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol
available in 10s 20s and eventually 100 trillion units (wheelbarrows must be paid for in bananas) [xenzag, Jan 21 2009]
http://en.wikipedia...i/Zimbabwean_dollar
[hippo, Jan 22 2009]
Hungarian Pengó;
http://en.wikipedia...ungarian_peng%C5%91
The largest denomination designed (but not issued) was the 1,000,000,000 Billion Pengó note, the largest issued was the 100,000,000 Billion Pengó note (10^20 pengó is still, a whole lotta pengóes) - but still worth next to nothing [zen_tom, Jan 22 2009]
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe
[hippo, Jan 23 2009]
[link]
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Ah yes, then there'll be the Zgoogolplex$ note. |
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Which of course means that by the time you've managed to explain to the store cashier exactly how large the denomination is of the note you've just handed over, then the universe has ended and you should have just stolen the food anyhows. |
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Why not go the whole hog and issue the ZGraham's Number$ and the Zalephnull$ and Zalephone$? |
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Meh, anyhows, at that rate, it's another 15 years before you'll be needing a googol note. |
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//How long will it be before even this bizarre amount of money pays for nothing bigger than a paperclip?//
Just over six months. The exchange rate was about Z$5,000,000,000,000 to the $ on 21st Jan (link) so this new note is worth about $20. The inflation rate is such that the cost of an item now will increase by an annual multiplier of 2,130,000 of that cost in a year's time.
If the daily multipler is q, then q^365=2,130,000 - so q is about 1.04073, meaning that the inflation rate is about 4% a day.
At this rate, if a paperclip costs 1 cent, it'll take 190 days for it to reach $20 or Z$100 trillon (0.01*1.04073^190=20). This seems a long time but the increase is compounded, so if you wait 5 years, the paperclip will cost US$438,427,732,293,149,000 trillion!
That said, the value of a paperclip is determined by production costs and also by supply and demand. It is possible that this year will see a decline in demand for paper fastening solutions in Zimbabwe which may affect their perceived value. |
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epaper bank notes. Number could change based on exchange rate to a security like a loaf of bread. |
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Anyone know how big Germany's notes got before WWII? My grandfather used to talk about getting paid and then RUNNING down to the bakery with a WAD of cash to buy bread before the notes he earned were worthless. |
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The highest banknote printed in the Weimar Republic at the end of its hyperinflation period was the 100,000,000,000,000 mark note, worth a little more than $20 at the time (about $200 in today's dollars). Prices were doubling about every two days. |
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Greece underwent a long period of hyperinflation (1941 - 1946) but I seem to recall it was financed by seigniorage (The difference between underlying bullion value and the face value of currency) rather than taxation. I have read stories of people running with wheelbarrows of cash to buy a loaf of bread before inflation doubled again. |
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The official record is held by Humgary in 1946: On 18 August, 1946 400 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 or 4×10^29 (four hundred octillion pengõ became 1 forint. It is estimated that Zimbabwe has now surpassed that record, with inflation reaching 12.95 quadrillion percent per month, ie. prices doubling every 15.6 hours. |
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How much would the wheelbarrow have cost? |
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[UB] - no longer in the quadrillions (10^15) - the inflation rate is now 89.7 Sextillion (10^21) percent (link), a meaningless number. (- later edit - ah, I see you were talking about monthly inflation) |
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I would like to raise an entirely irrelevant point. Zimbabwe is a former member of the Commonwealth. As such, would it be using the American short form of numbers, e.g. billion with nine zeros, or the British longer form, e.g. billion with twelve? Considering Mugabe's anti-Britishness, would he make a point of using the American version? Is their inflation percentage expressed in quadrillions per month or trillions? Or does Mugabe pretend it's lower anyway? If so, wouldn't it help him to use the British system? |
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Amusing, but large notes are no cure for inflation. |
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I quoted the numbers in short form, [BH], as it's almost universally understood around the world. |
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//Amusing, but large notes are no cure for inflation// which is exactly why it's here.... but there must be some inescapable reason to escalating currency denominations. I clearly remember my father showing us and allowing us to touch the first twenty pound note I ever saw, at the same time when a single penny would have bought four individual chews at the local sweet shop. I also remember signs in the New York subway system saying "NO TWENTY DOLLAR BILLS", and the nasty arguments I had over that issue. |
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Zimbabwe has dumped its currency, opting for a currency backed by the USD. Had to happen eventually. |
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I'm not really sure how that's going to help - the situation will go from everyone having lots of worthless money to no one having any money. |
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Government employees and stooges will have some money. The rest of the population has begun using other currencies, including the South African Rand. Trade and barter will pick up the economy. |
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Of course, they still have to depose Mugabe, to effect a long term fix. |
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