This is part of a Zim press statement that was published in the Nov/Dec 2015 monthly bulletin of Numismatics International. I thought y'all might find it interesting as an illustration of the dangers of hyper-inflation.

The complete release is fairly long and I am having to type it, so I am just going to hit the high points.

quote:

11 June 2015

Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. This press conference has been called to provide an update on the process of demonetisation of the Zim. dollar in pursuit of Section 41.......

Demonetisation is the act or process of removing the legal status of a currency unit.....The old unit of currency must be retired or decommissioned.......

Demonetisation is not compensation for the loss of value of the Z$ due to hyper-inflation. It is an exchange process.......

The demonetisation process which will run from 15 June to 30 Sept 2015 will deal with all non-loan bank accounts as of 31 Dec 2008 as well as cash held by the public.....

After 30 Sept 2015 bank notes that have not been exchanged shall be considered demonetised or decommissioned.

Banks will pay the US$ amount for each account balance as of 31 Dec 2008 as follows:

a) Accounts with balances of 0 to Z$175 quadrillion will be paid a flat US$5.

B) Accounts with balances above Z$175 quadrillion will be paid the equivalent value after applying the UN exchange rate fo US$1/Z$35 quadrillion or US1$/Z$35,000 (revalued).

......

Banks will exchange Z$ cash for US$ equivalent....at an exchange rate of Z$250 trillion to US1$ for 2008 note series and Z$250 to US$1 for 2009 note series.

(has conversion table but too long to type out without a table form) but for example 2008 Z$100 trillion would be converted at Z$250 trillion/US1$ and a 100 trillion note would bring 40 cents US.

......

I Thank You.

Dr J P Mangudya
Governor
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

11 June 2015

Yep, I made all my children Zim millionaires.

Is a quadrillion more or less than a gazillion billion?

The shocking thing is that I remember the exchange rate on my first trip. As I recall, it was $8 Zim for each $1 US.

Times certainly changed.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
The shocking thing is that I remember the exchange rate on my first trip. As I recall, it was $8 Zim for each $1 US.

Times certainly changed.

I remember it when it 6-1!!


Name

number of zeros

groups of (3) zeros

Trillion 12 4 (1,000,000,000,000)
Quadrillion 15 5
Quintillion 18 6
Sextillion 21 7
Septillion 24 8
Octillion 27 9
Nonillion 30 10
Decillion 33 11
Undecillion 36 12
Duodecillion 39 13
Tredecillion 42 14
Quatttuor-decillion 45 15
Quindecillion 48 16
Sexdecillion 51 17
Septen-decillion 54 18
Octodecillion 57 19
Novemdecillion 60 20
Vigintillion 63 21
Centillion 303 101

I am keeping mine from 2008. I quite enjoy the notion of being a multi-billionaire...

Rich

I brought home a few million of Zim. currency in $100,000 notes. Had a lot of fun tipping. Of course I had to add real money.

Dave

What do you think my kids are going to inherit?
Trillions in zimbucks!

Of course, there was a time when a Zim dollar was worth two US dollars.

When I was in Zim last, 2007, I watched my tracker put a Zim 5 Billion bill in his pocket. Intrigued, I asked what he could buy with it at that time. He replied, "Coke". I wanted the bill so I gave him a $1 bill for it, which he happily traded.

My white PH's father was a retired Zim policeman, who retired when the Zim dollar was worth more than the US dollar. His retirement was $1,500 a month. In 2007, he said his father was asked by the government if they could stop sending him his pension, as the stamp to mail it cost more than the 1,500 Zim dollars was worth.

When I was leaving the country after the safari, I wanted to buy a 15 cent postcard at the airport. I handed the girl a US $1 bill. She needed to make me 85 cents US change. She could not. She looked all around the desk, her eyes going over and past the Zim dollars laid all out on the table. There were 10,000 100,000 and 100,000,000 Zim dollar bills all over the desk. I asked if she could make change out of that. She looked up at me surprised, incredulous that I wanted it. I thought I had a chance to get some more denominations. She picked up every bill on the desk and shoved them toward me with a smile. There must have been about forty such bills. I took them all. She was delighted.

I did not see this myself, but my fellow safari hunters on this trip were driving to Bulawayo. They said along the way, on the side of the highway, were people selling 'bales' (yes, as in hay bales) of Zim paper money for US $5.

This is what happens when dictators are not economists.

Have they started printing their own USD yet?

No but we are doing it for them.

You can print your own Zim dollars.

I have a note in front of me right here, and it is just a normal piece of paper with print on each side.

No security function at all.

My Z$100 Trillion bill is worth nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by nopride2:
I brought home a few million of Zim. currency in $100,000 notes. Had a lot of fun tipping. Of course I had to add real money.

Dave

I made a comment one time on AR that if I were a millionaire I would hunt all season full bag in about three countries.

Saeed told me to give him my address so he could make me a millionaire. He mailed me 76 million Zim dollars and my son took it to his work place to show it to his friends who got a real kick out of it! I still have it and will keep it along with my Zaireses and Zambian Quatcha!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
You can print your own Zim dollars.

I have a note in front of me right here, and it is just a normal piece of paper with print on each side.

No security function at all.

Saeed

It has a built it security function - the cost of printing it is worth more than anything you can buy with it :-)

Mike

The Zim money is worth a lot more as collectors' items; somebody many years ago marketed a board game called Zimopoly which used the real money.

Surefire7,

Why did you ask and wait for a mere 85 cents?

Because as I said, I was hoping to 'make a deal' to get some more different denomination bills beside the one Zim 5 Billion dollar that I bought from the tracker. And I did. And both of them got the better deal financially, and I came home with 'millions' that I passed out to all of my friends. It was really a lot of fun!

My granddaughter made me a framed collage for the wall of my billion Zimbabwe bucks. It looks real pretty.

I only have 100 trillion
Pauper