Catalog
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| Issuer | Magyar Nemzeti Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | EGYMILLIÁRD B.-PENGŐ BUDAPEST, 1946. ÉVI JÚNIUS HÓ 3-ÁN MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK ELNÖK FŐTANÁCSOS VEZÉRIGAZGATÓ A BANKJEGYHAMISÍTÁST A TÖRVÉNY BÜNTETI (Translation: One billion trillion Pengoes (1 Sextillion Pengoes = 10²¹)) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | EGY MILLIÁRD B.-PENGŐ 1 MILLIÁRD B (Translation: One billion trillion Pengoes (1 Sextillion Pengoes = 10²¹)) |
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| Comments |
The B.-pengő — "bilpengő," shorthand for billió pengő, or one trillion pengő — was a unit invented purely to cope with the most severe hyperinflation ever recorded. By mid-1946, Hungary's daily inflation rate exceeded 200%, and the pengő had collapsed so completely that denominations in the hundreds of trillions became necessary for ordinary transactions. This note, face value one billion B.-pengő, represents 10²¹ original pengő — a number requiring scientific notation to write sensibly.
The stabilization came on 1 August 1946 with the introduction of the forint, at a conversion rate of 400,000 quadrillion pengő to one forint. Notes of this series were in official use for weeks, not months.