Wed 3 Sep 2008
Spare me a quadrillion – only in a land of zeros
Posted by Prieur du Plessis under Money, Markets, Currencies
1,000,000,000,000,000. That’s right, a quadrillion is a thousand trillion. These are the numbers Zimbabweans have to deal with when going about fairly modest everyday transactions. The sad truth is that hyperinflation is just one of the many items the country’s despotic ruler, Robert Mugabe, can list on his bio.
The check below, drawn on the MBCA bank in Zimbabwe, has just crossed my path. It is for Z$1.072 quadrillion which, as far as I can establish, equates to about US$27, but that is a rapidly moving target. Adding “only” to the amount in words and the “00″ cents to the figures must be a matter of habit!
The check is dated July 23, just prior to the Zim dollar having had 10 zeros cut off on August 1. But don’t hold your breath for an end to the erosion of the currency value, at least not while crazy Bob is calling the shots.
PS: Also see “Dinner for ONE in Zimbabwe“.
Source: Unknown
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September 4th, 2008 at 7:35 amSpare me a quadrillion – only in a land of zeros…
Have you ever seen a check for 1.072 quadrillion? Let me add that it is in Zimbabwean dollars. The sad truth of hyperinflation is that this astronomical number equates to only a tiny amount of US dollars….
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September 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 pm
I think you’re off by 3 orders of magnitude; at the time this was written, I think it was worth around 15,000 EUR. Now, 5 weeks later, it would be less than 2,000 EUR.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Great. Now I have the account number and a copy of the signature, I am going to withdraw … one million dollars.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Congrats on your great growth lately of your blog - saw a mention in The Big Picture today about this post.
Cheers.
- Richard
Richard Wilson
Hedge Fund Group (HFG)
September 4th, 2008 at 3:58 am
any idea how much is lost during clearing house processing?
banks must make a package on the float
September 4th, 2008 at 10:59 am
That is incredible, and incredibly sad. With the inflation moving so quickly, by the time the cheque clears it must be worth less!