During its hyperinflation, Zimbabwe issued the banknote with the highest face value of modern times in January 2009. How many Zimbabwean dollars was it worth?
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Answer
About 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollars
On the day it was issued the note was worth only about 30 US dollars on the street, and within weeks it was worth almost nothing. Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency a few months later.
How to estimate it
A banknote's face value is a decision, not something to derive. The logic of hyperinflation helps a little: by 2008 prices in Zimbabwe were doubling every day or so, and the central bank kept adding zeros, from millions to billions to trillions within months. The final step is always a round power of ten. The largest note issued was 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollars, a 1 followed by 14 zeros.
Source: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
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