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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,386 |
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Moderator
 Australia
16869 Posts |
XE.com currently lists the Zimbabwean dollar at Z$298 to $1 Canadian, but this exchange rate is obsolete; this was the rate back in 2006 when the Zimbabwe dollar (ZWD) was replaced with the "new Zimbabwe dollar" (ZWN) and xe.com stopped tracking it. The famous 100 trillion dollar notes were issued under the "third Zimbabwe dollar" (ZWR), January-February 2009, when they were replaced with the fourth dollar (ZWL), at a rate of 1,000,000,000,000:1 (making 100 trillion third-dollars worth 100 fourth-dollars). The fourth dollar was abandoned in April 2009.
All these currencies are obsolete. As such, they have no current exchange rate; as far as exchangeability goes, they're as worthless as Nazi reichsmarks or Confederate dollars. You could work out a theoretical exchange rate based on the rate at suspension, but you'd need to know which Zimbabewe dollar your notes were issued under.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
589 Posts |
Quote:
500 dollars = $1.70 Can.
750,000 dollars = $2,556.19 Can.
10 Million dollars = $34,078.68 Can. wow There are four Zimbabwe Dollars, not one. There's your error. There's the ZWD, the ZWN, the ZWR, and the ZWL. Why they keep the ZWD on any currency converter is beyond me, as it was redenominated and denominated. Also, the exchange rate listed is wrong. |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12867 Posts |
I am the proud owner of a crisp $100 Trillion Zimbabwe note. I think I paid about US $10 with shipping. Worth it as far as I'm concerned.
As others have mentioned, it's a good lesson in world currency and economics.
Edited by CelticKnot
01/21/2015 11:14 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
9178 Posts |
Great info and still cool to convert.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5869 Posts |
I bought a lot of five $100 Trillion Zimbabwe notes on ebay a few years ago. I gave one to my son as a Christmas stocking stuffer and kept the rest of myself. I'll probably end up giving away at least 3 more as gifts over time. |
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
I lived in Zimbabwe on three different occasions: all of 1989, the last part of 1992, and most of 1993, teaching at the University there and doing some work on a book.
In 1989, the Z$ was 2:1 to the US$. They had a pretty standard monetary set: 1c, 5c, 20c, 50c, and 1Z$ coins, along with $2, $5, $10, and $20 notes. You could buy a loaf of bread with coins, no problem.
In 1992 the Z$ was 5:1 to the USD, and they had added on a $50 note. But you could still buy a loaf of bread with a couple of dollar coins and a 50c coin.
In 1993 it was pretty much the same.
Now, by 2008 it took a $10 trillion note to buy a loaf of bread (and that's after they had been through three rounds of 000 dropping (i.e. you have a $1000 note one day and the Gov't exchanges them the next for "new" $1 notes).
Since 2009, they have dropped their currency and rely mostly on the USD and the South African rand, and to a certain extent to Euro. And they are not the only country which uses a foreign currency (almost always the USD or the former colonial currency).
Kevin.
Edited by KevinH
01/22/2015 12:12 pm
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Valued Member
United States
368 Posts |
these bills are highly collectible now. you could have made a big profit getting them back then when they could only buy a loaf of bread.
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Valued Member
United States
331 Posts |
I recently went to Zimbabwe and got the chance to pick a large wad of these bills. It was pretty funny to see the expression on peoples face when you gave them a million dollar note back in the US. For $50.00 us I got several trillion and about 30 other notes of different denomination. The sad part was to listen to the stories of the people that had this money as it was going out and couldnt even by a loaf of bread with a trillon dollar note.
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Moderator
Australia
16869 Posts |
Hyperinflation always has it's sad, and amusing, stories. One of the amusing ones is the anti-Mugabe activist group that had billboards made from old paper money (not in Zimbabwe itself, of course). They were careful to point out that it was actually cheaper to use the money as wallpaper than it would be to take the money and try to use it to buy some wallpaper. You can see a pic of one of their billboards on wikipedia. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4692 Posts |
These Zim hyperinflation notes were, and probably still are, burned for heat because firewood has a value, and the notes do not.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
pawpaw.. any interest in selling a few of the high denomination notes?
I like to collect defunct currency.
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Valued Member
United States
331 Posts |
Sorry stampvirgin. I framed a couple of displays and have already gave the extras away.
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Moderator
United States
14463 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
thanks fuzzy,, I rather buy my novelty items from ccf members.
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Moderator
United States
14463 Posts |
I understand and thanks for supporting the CCF members  |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,386 |
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First Page
Posted 01/21/2015 10:12 pm
