One hundred trillion Zimbabwe dollars will get you 40 US cents – if it’s exchanged via the country’s central bank. On eBay, however, the going rate for one of the hyper-inflation banknotes is a ‘massive’ US$35 (and fluctuating).
Collectors are seemingly desperate to get their hands on the remains of Zimbabwe’s early-2000s inflation crisis. The country abandoned its currency in 2009 and moved to the US dollar but a small number of Zimbabwe-dollar banknotes remain in the system.
The nation has set aside US$20 million to get rid of them once and for all. This money will also be used to compensate residents who had local currency bank balances before the end of March 2009. According to Reuters, citizens with balances of up to ZWD175 quadrillion – that’s 175 000 000 000 000 000 Zimbabwean dollars – will be paid US$5, while those with higher balances will get a rate of US$1 to every ZWD35 quadrillion.
Zimbabweans have until the end of September to exchange the banknotes, though the savvy will probably hang onto them as an investment.
