 Zimbabwean banknotes with face values of up to 100 billion dollars are changing hands on eBay for hundreds of times their actual worth.
The Zimbabwean government this week responded to the hyperinflation crippling the country’s economy by knocking 10 zeros of the value of currency. From Friday notes with a face value of Z$100 billion will be worth Z$10, the equivalent of 50p. But the inflated notes, which will be legal tender in Zimbabwe until the end of the year, have become desirable collectors items on the eBay, with single notes changing hands for more than £100. A Z$100 billion note - the highest denomination in circulation - currently up for auction on the website has already attracted bids of more than £110. Bank notes with face values of Z$50 billion and Z$25 billion are also being sold, generally advertised in protective plastic sleeves. They are technically “special agro-cheques” rather than traditional bank notes, and were introduced recently in a desperate attempt to keep pace with soaring food prices that have left millions of Zimbabweans hungry. Unlike usual bank notes they are marked with issue and expiry dates, making them ever more desirable for collectors. Under the terms of the revaluation the hyperinflated notes will be valid until the end of the year, when they will be replaced by new notes and coins. But economists have warned that simply issuing new notes will achieve nothing without accompanying reforms to prevent the government continuing to print extra currency to pay its own bills. Hyperinflation has been running at 2.2 million per cent a year according to official figures, with economists suggesting the true figure may be far higher.
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