Hyperinflation Notes

I've primarily been focused on coins, but some of the hyperinflation notes are catching my fancy.

Specifically, I'm interested in the major hyperinflation episode curencies:

+ Hungary 1946 | 100 Million B Pengo |
+ Zimbabwe 2008 | 100 Trillion Dollars
+ Greece 1944 | 100 billion Drachmai | UNC A Series $4?
+ German 1923 | 50 & 100 Billionen Mark notes
+ Yugoslavia 1993 | 500 Billion Dinara | UNC A Series $10?

Here are my questions:

1. There appears to be multiple types of the German Mark notes. From what I've read, it appears that several rails, private company, and regional issues (?) helped to print the massive number of notes. Which 50 & 100 Billionen Mark notes are more valuable? I'm assuming the more detailed ones and/or the ones issued by the German government (?) are more valuable, as many of these high denomination notes have only two colors, simpler in design, and completely lack a reverse design.

2. What threshold price is typical or average for non-graded, raw "about uncirculated" notes (unless UNC is specified above)? I've checked online prices from various sites, and they seem to be all over the place. At the same time, price guides don't seem to convey the present real world prices, at least not from the sites I've been looking at.


Thanks in advance!

 

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Well, I purchased a few of them yesterday.

Just need info on the 1923 German and 1946 Hungary if anyone knows.

Thanks again.

 

Perhaps I should narrow it down a bit...

How much should I expect to pay for the second highest denomination, the 50 Billionen (100 trillion) Mark note, from Duisburg?

 

According to my records I paid $9 for the Yugoslavia 500 Billion Dinara and $27 for the 100 Million B-Pengo note, but both were about 6 years ago.

I posted shots of both in this thread:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/post-a-high-denomination-note.253670/

 

Thanks for that info. It looks like I'm right on target or really close with those.

The 50 trillion mark one is a bit tricky to find, especially since there are so many different variations and private printing companies.

 

At the end of the German hyperinflation, 1 billion marks became 1 mark, and most official (Reichsbank issue) notes over 1 billion were traded in for the new currency. This makes all of the high values very rare.

Maybe some of the notgeld was redeemed, maybe not, but it is vastly commoner than the Reichsbank issues. I have never had a higher Reichsbank denomination than 1 billion marks, and I think the 10 Billion would fetch arounf $500 and the 100 Billion several thousand dollars.

 

Ahh thanks for that info.

It looks like I should be on the lookout for the official government notes or the Reichsbanknote, and not the private company issues like the Duisburg example above. Who knew such worthless paper would be worth so much later on - though it probably depends on the size and influence of the country, as well as rarity, etc. I'll remember that the next hyperinflation hits.

 

By billion do you mean "billionen"? I'm probably going to pull the trigger on a Reichsbanknote 1 trillion (= 1 billionen) Mark in VG condition.

 

I usually look to www.tieste.de for prices of German notes.

 

I always refer to the original denomination, but saw no reason to write it in German. Your American billiion was a milliard in Europe until recently when the US usage took over. To me a billion will always be a million million, which cuts all those billionaires down to size,

 

A million million may be a billion to you but most of us know it to be a thousand million.

 

Not "in Europe". Pretty much every Western/Central European country uses the échelle longue or long scale. It's different in Eastern Europe, the UK and Ireland.

Christian

 

but most of us know it to be a thousand million.

You do not know it to be that, since there is the chance that someone is referring quite legitimately to a million million as a billion. More accurately, you work on the assumption that you are using the same terms as they are.

Many of the greatest disasters in history are based on two sets of people 'knowing' different and incompatable things to be true.

Wisdom lies in considering that what you 'know' may in fact be wrong.

 

Wow, 100 Trillion! I'm rich!

 

Well I got all five of the ones listed, but the Hungary and Germany ones were upgraded:

+ I purchased the 2 trillion Reichsbanknote note instead of the 50 trillion notgeld or 1 trillion Reichsbanknote. Good thing I asked here, otherwise I would have ignorantly purchased the private-issue notgeld (I'm a gov't printed/minted collector).

+ I purchased the unissued Hungary 1 billion billion Pengo instead of the circulating 100 million billion Pengo, with a one-side-only-print error - I got lucky finding this one. I'll have to figure out if this is authentic or not (besides eventually submitting it to PCGS/PMG).

Thanks for all the help folks!

 

Congratulations! I think that every hyperinflation set should also include one of these 1/000 coins.

 

Interesting error coin - though thank goodness for US it's not a real inflation coin. I've contemplated getting the 1837 "Hard Times" token, since it revolves around the issue of banking or the value of currencies in general, and Andrew Jackson vetoing any legislation for a central bank (the token is pro-bank; the issuing of tokens reveals how widespread the issue was then).

Images from the 'net

 

How about a more recent "hard times" token?

 

Ok, the last hyperinflation note came in today... at least of the top six hyperinflation economies. All but the German one is the highest issued or unissued note. And, the Croatia vs Bosnia note is still not clear to me as the one reigning at the top of the hyperinflation rankings (Bosnia is listed as number 14 or so IIRC, while Croatia isn't listed by name at all - Republika Srpska is).

I think I'm going to send the Hungary note off to PMG since it's in an unissued error note, but I'm not sure about the German Mark due to its condition (but maybe it's still worth it since I'm considering an upgrade in condition and/or denomination?). Should I send the German note off to PMG for grading? It'll probably come back as a pretty low grade... but still... should I?

 

As for the "Krajina Republic" note, well, that country was a fairly short-lived "non-recognized" entity, see here. The territory is now part of Croatia again.

The Republika Srpska, on the other hand, is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Confusing, I know.

Christian