Hyperinflation

When I taught inflation some (mumble, mumble) years ago, I used to tell stories about the German hyperinflation in the 1920s. My maternal grandparents came to the U.S. largely as a result of the economic collapse that followed. Years later, my grandfather even gave me an assortment of large denomination bills (that had literally been used to stuff a mattress).

Now we can use stories from Zimbabwe. See Greg Mankiw's blog here and here.

My favorite German stories were about my grandmother coming to the factory where my grandfather worked twice a day to collect his pay in a large basket. Each time she went, the nominal wage was larger, and had to be spent quickly before it lost value.

Any stories about hyperinflation in your family histories are welcome.

Posted by TSchilling at May 31, 2006 7:24 PM

Comments
This article by Ludwig von Mises on German hyperinflation is very interesting.

http://www.mises.org/mmmp/mmmp7.asp

Posted by: Tom at June 1, 2006 9:14 PM