Blighted Billions
50 Billion Dollars ZIM87

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Note Details

Set Details
Note Description: Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank
50 Billion Dollars 2008
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: ZIM
Note Number: ZIM87
Signatures/
Vignettes:		 - Sign. #8
Certification #: 1804771-060  
Owner: Revenant
Sets Competing: Blighted Billions  Score: 37
Pittman Family ZWR, 3rd Dollar, Banknotes  Score: 37
Date Added: 2/16/2019
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

It is interesting to note that the highest "Billion" denomination is 50 Billon dollars and the lowest "Trillion" denomination is 10 Trillion Dollars. There is no 100 Billion. There is no 200 Billion. There is no 500 Billion. There is no 1 or 5 Trillion banknote. By this point in time the inflation situation had gotten so far out of control that they had to skip all of that and go right for denominations of 10 to 100 Trillion dollars. As a result, from ZIM87 to ZIM88 the face value of the note jumps by a factor of 200. In August 2008 the exchange rate was ZWR$1,780 to US$1. By November 2008, the exchange rate was ZWR$669,000,000,000 to US$1.

The Zimbabwe regular banknotes feature an image of the Chiremba balancing rock formation - three balancing rocks that are in Matobo National Park. The image of the stones was chosen as a metaphor for balancing development and environmental protection following the country’s transition from white-ruled Rhodesia to the majority black ruled Zimbabwe. The Matobo Hills are composed entirely of granite and it makes for some really unique and interesting formations.

The back side of the Trillions Series banknotes all feature a pair of images that have some kind of national, cultural or economic significance to Zimbabwe. These images are different on each denomination though some of the images seem to have been used more than once on different denominations throughout the series.

The 50 Billion dollar banknote juxtaposes an image of The Reserve Bank Tower - home of the RBZ, completed in 1997 - with an image of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins. This image of the RBZ tower appears on ZIM71 (1000 ZWR), ZIM88 (10 trillion ZWR). Depictions of the Great Zimbabwe ruins are seen as far back as the 1st dollar, with ZIM8. However, this appears to be artwork introduced with the 3rd dollar series and it was a heavily used fixture of the series. It appears on ZIM69 (100 ZWR) ZIM77 (1 Million ZWR) ZIM78 (10 Million ZWR), ZIM79 (50 Million ZWR), ZIM86 (20 Billion ZWR), and ZIM88 (10 Trillion ZWR). The 10 Trillion and 50 Billion dollar banknotes (ZIM87 and 88) are sequential notes in the series and use the same images, but the positions of the images are reversed, and the banknotes use different colors.

This was the last of the "Billions" notes added to my collection. I didn't get one for the longest time because the sellers that had one were asking a lot for it relative to what I had been paying for the rest of the set and it wasn't worth it to me. I finally found one going for a price I was comfortable with and jumped at the chance to finish the billions set.

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