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Theserare hyperinflation banknotes, issued for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in Harare, are currently out of print andwithdrawn from circulation.
Pleasenote: this is a stock image. The banknotes you receive may have differentserial numbers to the banknotes pictured.
Allbills come secured between the solidsheets of corrugated cardboard in a padded envelope.
Banknotegrading terms we use
UNC - Uncirculated perfect condition, never used.
AU - About uncirculated, a virtually perfectnote, with some minor handling.
EF - Extremely fine, some weak foldsor creasesor onestrong fold. Sharp edges of the bill might be slightly rounded.
VF - Very fine, mighthave some folds, but the note should stillbecrisp and has a very littleamount of stains.
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History of Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
Hyperinflation occurswhenever a country’s currency is created at too high of a rate. The moneyeventually loses its power and value, as it is too overabundant. Thehistory of Zimbabwe’shyperinflation is a lengthy one, and it revolves around a government thatslowly became derailed.
Originally, the Zimbabwe dollarheld high value. In fact, dating back to its origin in the 1980s, the Zimbabwe dollarheld more value than the U.S. dollar. The early years of Zimbabwe’seconomy saw great growth and development. Various industries and crops werethriving, and, thus, Zimbabwe’seconomy had begun to thrive as well.
However, the tables beganto turn under the reign of President Robert Mugabe. In the early 1990s, Mugabe,with the help of the World Bank, decided to create an Economic StructuralAdjustment Program. This ESAP would begin the gradual fall of Zimbabwe’scurrency.
As a result of thisreadjustment, the government forced various land redistribution and landreform. Not only would this shift in land reform contribute to the fall of theeconomy; many claim that Mugabe’s actions were racist. Mugabe’s government tookaway land from white farmers and redistributed it to black farmers as an act ofcorrecting the injustices done by colonialism. What Mugabe’s government did notknow is that many of these black farmers were not prepared to tend to the newland, and thus many crops and industries began to plummet.
Once these various cropsand industries began to fall, the rest of the domino effect began. The bankingsector collapsed as soon as the farmers were not able to receive loans. Thefood output rate fell by almost half of its percentage, and thereforemanufacturing rates also declined. Ultimately the unemployment rate rose to astartling 80%, and the life expectancy rate dropped.
All of these awfulconsequences affected the monetary value of Zimbabwe currency for a fewdifferent reasons. Simultaneously with the steady decline in life at home, theMugabe government was rapidly producing money to fund their efforts with the Democratic Republic of the Congoand the Second Congo War. The government did not honestly report their spendingto the International Monetary Fund, so there was no record of the imminent doomfacing the country.
In addition to the war efforts,there were a few other causes for the eventual hyperinflation of Zimbabwecurrency. Due to the corrupt government, many officials were being overpaid,and people were not confident in their government’s abilities. This unfaithfulfeeling towards a country’s government has the tendency to undermine the faithof currency.
The Timeline ofZimbabwe’s Currency Hyperinflation
Follow this timeline forinsight into the amount of time it took for Zimbabwe’s currency to crash.
April 1980
The very first Zimbabweandollar is created in order to replace the Rhodesian dollar. A series ofZimbabwe bank notes are issued. These denominations range from $2 to $20.
1994–2006
The Reserve Bank divviesout many different banknotes ranging from $2 to $100. Once inflation begins tohit the country’s economy, the currency begins to lose its power, and thereforethe $500 and $1,000 are issued between the years of 2001 to 2005. By 2006, Zimbabwewelcomed the introduction of the $50,000 and $100,000 banknotes.
August 1, 2006
The government begins toattempt a currency reform in order to cease the inflation. The new denominationof the Zimbabwe dollareliminates three zeros from the old dollar; therefore, the second Zimbabwe dollaris revalued at one dollar, which would be $1,000 in the old currency.
July 1, 2007
Approximately one yearlater, the government creates the $500,000 banknote. According to the officialexchange rate, this extremely large Zimbabwe currency was worth around$16.00 in U.S. dollars.
December 31, 2007
As the year comes to aclose, the government issues the $750,000 banknote. This currency was worthapproximately $25.00 in U.S.currency.
January 1, 2008
The next day, thegovernment introduces the $1 Million, $5 Million, and the $10 Million.
April 2, 2008
The $25 Million and $50Million banknotes are debuted. Here are a few prices that were commonly seenduring this time: one T-shirt would cost around $276.5 Million and a pair ofpaints could run for $2.65 Billion. Local produce sold in the Millions, and twobeers and one bottle of water would cost you around $1 Billion.
May 2, 2008
Annual inflation nowreaches over 100,000%, and the $100 Million, $250 Million, and $500 Millionbanknotes are introduced.
May 15, 2008
A few days later, the $5Billion, $25 Billion, and $50 Billion bearer banknotes are debuted.
July 1, 2008
On this day, the $100Billion note is introduced, and this bill would buy anyone approximately threeeggs.
August 1, 2008
The government now implementsanother attempt at currency reform by eliminating ten zeroes from every Zimbabwedollar. The third Zimbabwedollar is now worth 10 Billion old dollars—the second Zimbabwedollar. However, despite this new implementation, inflation continues to rise.
September 29, 2008
The new $10,000 and $20,000notes are debuted.
October 13, 2008
The new $50,000 note isissued.
November 5, 2008
The $100,000 and $500,000bills are printed.
December 4, 2008
The government issues the $1 Million,$10Million, $50Million, and the $100Million dollar banknotes.
December 14, 2008
Approximately ten dayslater, the government slowly issues the new banknotes of the $200Million and $500Million. Five days after this, the government issues the $1 Billion,$5Billion and $10Billion bills.
January 12, 2009
The new $20Billion and $50Billion bills are introduced.
January 16, 2009
The government reaches newhighs with the introduction of these new banknotes: the $10 Trillion,$20 Trillion,$50Trillion and even the $100Trillion bill.
February 3, 2009
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe takes over and introduces the fourth Zimbabwedollar, which eliminates twelve zeros from old bills. This causes $1 Trillionto equal one new dollar. The new denominations issued are: $1, $5, $10, $20,$50, $100, and $500; however, many begin to adopt foreign currency, such as theU.S. dollar and the South African rand. Zimbabwe currency is obsolete andno more in use.
