Zimbabwean Dollar crashes. Again.

The now defunct $100 trillion Zimbabwean Dollar, the climax of Mugabe's economy

A few years ago, I purchased a $100 trillion Zimbabwean bank note on eBay for something like $11. That was about $11 more than it was worth. Interestingly, not too long later, it skyrocketed to $100 on collector's value before settling at $40.

It was a great token to illustrate the monetary disaster of the socialist dictator Robert Mugabe where rampant money printing led to hyperinflation, crashing the value of its currency to worthless in 2008.

Eventually, dollarisation stabilized the economy, but in 2015, a shortage of US Dollars in the country led the government to issue its own currency again.

Then in 2017, Mugabe is ousted him from power in a coup, replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa. Roughly the same kind of policy but with a harsher military presence.

Maybe Mnangagwa learned the lesson of hyperinflation?

Not a chance. In 2019, Zimbabwe delinks its currency from the US Dollar. In one short year, the exchange rate went from 1:1 to 1:18, with the Zimbabwean Dollar hitting over 600% inflation.

What is it they say about history repeating itself?

Maybe there will eventually be another new $100 trillion Zimbabwean Dollar note that I can buy. Then we can do it all again in 12 years.