2016-08-30 Tue

One of the worst cases of inflation in history is that of the Hungary!

Plagued by the World Wars, Hungary was no stranger to inflations. After the end of the 1st World War due to inflation the currency of Hungary, the Kronen, was changed to Hungarian Pengo or Pengoe.

These Pengos were the legal tender in Hungary from 1st January 1927 to 31 July 1946, when it was further replaced by the Forint.

Though Pengos were introduced as a solution for the inflation after the 1st World War, they lasted only for 20 years and the country was affected by a record breaking hyperinflation in 1946. The damage done in Hungary during the World War II was immense and by the end of the war most of industries and the work labour forces were decapitated. The prices rose as fast as boiling water and the Hungarian Pengo went from 5 Pengo to 1 USD in 1944 to almost 460 trillion to 1 USD by July 1946.

To cope with the rising inflation, the government kept changing the name of the currency from Pengo to Milpengo (1,000,000 Pengo), Bilpengo (1,000,000,000,000 Pengo) which was further replaced by the Adopengo. The notes had the same design but were coloured differently.

As the prices were still growing higher, the Pengos were replaced by Forint. Forint is still the currency of Hungary.

When the Forint replaced the Pengo, the exchange rate was a 400,000 Quadrillion Pengos to 1 Forints! Fortunately the Forints stabilised the economy and the inflation was brought under control. And as to the old Pengo banknotes, they were thrown away or used as Toys by the kids!

The Milliard Bilpengo was the highest denomination banknote ever printed that is a 100 Million Billion Pengo. That's right: 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 Pengos! Lost count of the zeros didn’t you! However unfortunately, at the end of the inflation, it was only worth about twelve cents USD.