I'm seeing two versions of the 50 billion Dinara notes from the Srpska Republic (1993). They went through a massive hyperinflation and had the 50 billion Dinara notes ready to circulate, but ultimately it was unissued. But, which one's the government issued one? Are they both the official federal government of Srpska notes, or is one a "notgeld" or privately (un)issued version? The first one pictured below is going for much more than the second one. The second one is typically listed as a "regional" note - is this simply referring to the region, since Srpska is now Croatia, and the region in question went through a lot of border changes? Or is it regional in the sense that a specific region within Srpska separately issued notes to help the federal government print the massive quantities of notes (i.e. is it equivalent to NY state issuing a hyperinflation note if the US goes through a hyperinflation)? Thanks in advance! (Pics from the 'net)
Foremost, I'd like to mention why I'm interested in this note, besides the massive denomination size. The Republika Srpska experienced the fourth highest hyperinflation of all time, when prices doubled every 1.4 days, roughly equivalent and at the same time as the third highest hyperinflation episode experienced by Yugoslavia in 1994 (table below). I have examples of all 6 - but I may have the "wrong" Srpska note (I recently purchased the second one above). Confusion occurs when two different Srpska note designs exist. From the Wikipedia excerpt below, the "1993 Dinar" is the first one pictured above, given the portrait of Petar Kocic. I don't believe that the second note above is the "1992 Dinar", given that the "Arms of the Republic" seal is not shown, and that the note clearly shows the 1993 date on the bottom right. Yet, it clearly says "Srpska" on the reverse of both notes. Is one from Bosnia (but then why would Srpska and not Bosnia be written on the note)? Are both of them Srpska examples, and the Republika Srpska simply decided to print two different designs before deciding on which one to use? There were two distinct currencies issued by the National Bank of the Republika Srpska. The first was introduced in 1992 in conjunction with the Yugoslav dinar of that year, to which it was equal. The second was introduced on October 1, 1993, replacing the first at a rate of one million to one and matching the revaluation of the Yugoslav currency. Following this, the Republika Srpska used Yugoslav currency (first the "1994 dinar" and then "novi dinar") until 1998, when the convertible mark was introduced. The two currencies were only issued in note form, with the first issued in denominations of 10 dinars up to 10 billion dinars and the second in denominations of 5000 dinars up to 50 billion dinars. The designs of the banknotes varied very little within the issues of the two currencies. The "1992 dinar" notes featured the arms of the republic on both sides, whilst the "1993 dinar" notes had a portrait of Petar Kočić on the obverse. Some of the issues in 1993 were overprints on 1992 banknotes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republika_Srpska_dinar
The first note was issued in Banja Luka which is in Bosnia and is still part of Republika Srpska. The second was issued in Knin, which is in Croatia, by the Krajina Serbs. If I remember correctly wasn't the Krajina republic a separate entity? BTW I went on a road trip through Krajina in 2002 and there weren't many lights on in the towns. I think it was mostly deserted as it went through a lot of "ethnic cleansing" during the war...
If Kragina was a separate entity, I'm wondering why they aren't listed as one of the highest hyperinflation countries. I see two separate entries for the countries in question shown in the table pictured below, one for Srpska (#4) and another for Bosnia & Herzegovina (#13). Today, Croatia is a part of what was once Srpska and Bosnia; while Bosnia & Herzegovina is a part of what was once Srpska and its original territories. In other words, the boundaries were completely redrawn to separate the two countries into more distinct locations. Furthermore, both Knin and Banja Luka appear to have been in Bosnia & Herzegovina when the 50 billion Dinara notes were printed (at least according to the maps below, which may or may not have been redrawn several times as territories were gained or lost with each battle). This only adds to my confusion... Here's the ranked table of the first 24 countries and link to the study by Hanke-Krus (on pages 12-13) that I'm referencing: http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/workingpaper-8.pdf As an aside, 54 of the top 55 worst hyperinflation episodes ever of any country occurred in the 20th century; the exception is Zimbabwe at #2 in the 21st century. This measure controls for high nominal values of currency by looking at how fast prices doubled, which should indirectly control for greater money supplies due to increased population and other "large size" variables. I'd imagine that hyperinflation in the ancient days were pretty bad, and most of that data is probably unreliable to draw a comprehensive conclusion. However, it's of my opinion that the hyperinflation we know today is a relatively modern phenomenon that far exceeds the magnitude of any inflationary episode previous to the 20th century.
Here is the intro to the Wikipedia article on Republic of Serbian Krajina (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Serbian_Krajina): The Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) (Serbian: Republika Srpska Krajina, RSK; Република Српска Крајина, РСК, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sr̩̂pskaː krâjina]; sometimes translated as Republic of Serb Krajina) was a self-proclaimed Serb parastate[clarification needed][5][6] within the territory of the Republic of Croatia during the Croatian War of Independence. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina ("Frontier") was adopted from the historical borderland, the Military Frontier, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which existed up to 19th century. Its separatist government engaged in a war for ethnic Serb independence from the Republic of Croatia, within and out of Yugoslavia, once Croatian borders had been recognized by foreign states in August 1991 and February 1992. Milan Babić, former President of Serbian Krajina, testified to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that Krajina was provided with weapons by Slobodan Milošević's government in Serbia, and that Krajina was economically and financially dependent upon Serbia.[7] Babic testified that Milošević heldde facto control over both the Army of Serbian Krajina and the Yugoslav People's Army during its actions in Krajina via an alternate chain of command through the Serbian police. The government of Krajina had de facto control over central parts of the territory while control of the outskirts changed with the successes and failures of its military activities. The territory was legally protected by the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). Its main portion was overrun by Croatian forces in 1995 and the Republic of Serbian Krajina was ultimately disbanded as a result; a rump remained in eastern Slavoniaunder UNTAES administration until its peaceful reintegration into Croatia in 1998. It was a separate entity within Croatia populated by ethnic Serbs and later retaken by the Croatian Army. Unlike the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic) which still exists as an autonomous entity within Bosnia, it was disbanded during the war and probably not recognized by many other countries at the time. Therefore its banknotes would be more apt to be classified as "notgeld" and would not show up on a list of countries with hyperinflation.
I read that Wiki article; this one, too: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republika_Srpska) - Republika Srpska is one of two administrative entities of Bosnia & Herzegovina (the other is the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina). Yet, they're both labeled as separate entities by Hanke-Krus, as highlighted below. Does this mean that these two separate entities, both of which are within Bosnia & Herzegovina, issued two versions for the same government? If that's the case, is the first note with the portrait of Peter Cocic the note of the "Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina", whereas the second note is an issue from the Republika Srpska administrative entity? Or vice versa? The second note (with the building image) cannot be issued or printed by what was then Croatia, as they didn't experience hyperinflation. Hanke-Krus do note that "The Republika Srpska is a Serb-majority, semi-autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1992 until early 1994, the National Bank of Republika Srpska issued its own unique currency, the Republika Srpska dinar."
The notes are from 2 geographically and politically separate entities, the first is from Republica Srpska (still in existence within present day Bosnia) and the second from Krajina (now defunct and part of present day Croatia).
Thanks, it looks like that I got the wrong one then. Anyway, if Bosnia is the Republika Srpska one, and the Republica Srpska note is what's below, why is Bosnia ranked #13, while Republika Srpska is ranked #4? Did these two separate administrative entities of Bosnia use the same currency? But then Bosnia and Srpska would be tied for #4.
Also, if you look at this website, it lists both the 50 billion notes as from Bosnia & Herzegovina. Not sure how accurate the info is though. http://banknoteworld.com/bosnia-herzegovina
