The Leeds City Museum will be showcasing one of the dumbest decisions made ever in the form of one of our Zim dollar notes.
We will never forget the cash crisis back in 2008 that led to the constant printing of money notes. The inflation was so bad, bigger denominations had to be printed in a single note to avoid carrying loads of money to make purchases.
The biggest denomination printed was the 100 Trillion Zim Dollar note. It will be a part of the “Money Talks” exhibition at the Leeds City Museum.
Why the 100 trillion note?
The 100 Trillion Zim Dollar note is one of the highest denominations of currency in circulation in history. The bill, released by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) at the height of Zimbabwe’s world-record setting hyperinflation period in 2008.
The aim of the exhibition will be to focus on the evolution of money over the past century. “Money Talks looks at the wide-ranging impact that money has had on people and how it shapes our perceptions,” a statement on the Leeds City Museum website announcing the exhibition reads. “It raises questions around value and worth, tells stories from across the globe, and discusses more sensitive subjects including gambling and addiction.”
Achievement or laughing stock?
The instinctive reaction would be to be happy that Zimbabwe is being mentioned in an exhibition overseas. But after reflecting deeply one cannot overlook how much it speaks about our economy and the really bad turns it has taken to date. The world literally marvels that the situation was so bad there was need to print 100 trillion on a single note of paper.
The fact that people all over the world collect this note as a souvenir is another humbling thought. And it is not comforting that we have the bond note that continues to inflate by the day. This is just one of those moments when one reads a headline and feels conflicted on whether to be happy, sad or think about this when an opportunity comes to make important life-changing decisions.
1 comment
Comments are closed.