Hungarian pengő
pengő ( b.-pengő | |
---|---|
Subunit | |
1⁄100 | fillér |
Plural | |
fillér | fillérek (note: the plural is typically not used about currency) |
Symbol | |
fillér | f. |
Banknotes | |
Freq. used | 50 P, 100 P, 500 P, 1000 P, 10000 P, 100000 P, 1 million-P, 10 million-P, 100 million-P, 1 trillion-P 10000-mil.‑P, 100000-mil.‑P, 1 million-mil.‑P, 10 million-mil.‑P, 100 million-mil.‑P, 1 trillion-mil.‑P 10000, 100000, 1 million b.‑P, 10 million b.‑P, 100 million b.‑P |
Rarely used | 1 trillion b.‑P (never issued) |
Demographics | |
Date of introduction | 1 January 1927 |
Replaced | Hungarian korona |
Date of withdrawal | 1946 |
Replaced by | Hungarian adópengő
Republic of Hungary |
Issuance | |
Central bank | Hungarian National Bank |
Website | www |
Printer | Hungarian Banknote Printing Corp. |
Website | www |
Mint | Hungarian Mint Ltd. |
Website | www |
Valuation | |
Inflation | 2.9×10177%[1] (annualised rate, July 1946) |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The pengő (Hungarian:
Name
The Hungarian
At the beginning of the First World War precious metal coins were recalled from circulation, and in the early 1920s all coins disappeared because of the heavy inflation of the Hungarian korona. The name pengő was probably chosen to suggest stability. However, there was some controversy when choosing the name of the new currency, though the majority agreed that a Hungarian name should be chosen. Proposals included
The denomination of the banknotes was indicated in the languages of ethnicities living in the territory of Hungary. The name of the currency was translated as follows: Pengö (pl. Pengö) in German, pengő (pl. pengi) in Slovak, пенгов (pl. пенгова) in Cyrillic script Serbo-Croatian, пенгыв (pl. пенгывов, later пенге) in Rusyn, and pengő (pl. pengei, later penghei) in Romanian. Later pengov (pl. pengova), the Latin script Serbo-Croatian version was also added.
The symbol of the pengő was a capital P placed after the numerals and it was divided into 100 fillér (symbol: f.).
History
Introduction of the pengő
Denominations | |
---|---|
Banknotes | 5 P, 10 P, 20 P, 50 P, 100 P, 1000 P |
Coins | |
Freq. used | 1 f., 5 f., 10 f., 20 f., 50 f., 1 P, 2 P, 5 P |
Rarely used | 10 P, 20 P (never issued due to the Great Depression) |
Demographics | |
Date of introduction | 1 January 1927 |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
After the
After the Great Depression
Denominations | |
---|---|
Banknotes | |
Freq. used | 1 P, 5 P |
Rarely used | 50 f., 2 P (never issued) |
Demographics | |
Date of introduction | 2 November 1938 |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The effects of the Great Depression reached Hungary after 1930, with agriculture being affected the most. The pengő had to be devalued, and the country's debt increased. After a short period of recovery, war preparations – the most important of which was the Győr Program – had loosened the country's financial and monetary discipline, which in turn led to the depreciation of the pengő currency. The territories given back to Hungary by the First and Second Vienna Awards in 1938 and 1940 were economically less developed; this was an additional factor which aggravated the country's economic situation.[citation needed]
World War II
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2013) |
Denominations | |
---|---|
Banknotes | 2 P, 5 P, 10 P, 20 P, 100 P, 1000 P[a] |
Coins | |
Freq. used | 2 f., 10 f., 20 f., 1 P, 2 P |
Rarely used | 5 P (commemorative only) |
Demographics | |
Date of introduction | 1939 |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
Denominations | |
---|---|
Banknotes | 1 P, 2 P, 5 P, 10 P, 20 P, 50 P, 100 P, 1000 P |
Demographics | |
Date of introduction | 1944 |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The war caused enormous costs and, later, even higher losses to the relatively small and open Hungarian economy. The national bank was practically under government control, and the issue of money was proportional to budgetary demands. By this time, silver coins disappeared from circulation, and, later, even bronze and cupro-nickel coins were replaced by coins made of cheaper metal. In one of the last acts of World War II, the Szálasi government took control of banknote printing and issued notes without any cover, first in Budapest, then in Veszprém when Budapest had to be evacuated. The occupying Soviet army issued its own military money according to the
Hyperinflation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2013) |
The pengő lost value dramatically after World War II, suffering the highest rate of hyperinflation ever recorded in human history. There were several attempts to slow it down, such as a 75% capital levy in December 1945. However, this did not stop the hyperinflation, and prices continued spiraling out of control, with ever-higher denominations introduced. The denominations milpengő (one million pengő) and bilpengő (short: b.-pengő, one trillion (1000000000000) P) were used to simplify calculations, cut down the number of zeros and enable the reuse of banknote designs with only the color and denomination name changed.
The hyperinflation was so out of control that at one stage it took about 15 hours for prices to double and about four days for the pengő to lose 90% of its original value.
Adópengő
The Hungarian government introduced the adópengő (lit. 'tax pengő') on 1 January 1946, originally as an indexed unit of account for budget planning: the idea was that by setting the value of the adópengő in terms of regular pengős every day, the adópengő would try to protect the government budget from the effects of hyperinflation.[6]: 4 The value of the adópengő in terms of regular pengős started at par, but the rate declined to 630 pengős by 1 May 1946, and then two sextillion pengős (2×1021 = 1,000 billion billion) by 31 July the same year.[7]
On 29 May 1946, Ferenc Gordon (then Minister of Finance) started issuing adópengő tax bills,[6]: 11 and on 9 July the same year, the tax bills became legal tender. According to William Bomberger and Gail Makinen in October 1983, the issuance of the tax bills escalated the hyperinflation that eventually affected both regular pengős and adópengős—but the adópengő nevertheless forced the regular pengő into disuse as prices expressed in the latter became unbearable.[8]: 808–810
End of the pengő
On 11 July 1946, the Hungarian National Bank released the last pengő banknotes, for 100 million B-pengős (1020 = 100 quintillion): the Bank also printed banknotes for one billion B-pengős (1021 = one sextillion), but they never entered circulation.[9] The last adópengő banknote, for 100000000 adópengős, followed on 25 July, and was equal to 200 octillion pengős (2×1029 = 200 billion billion billion) on 31 July.
Ultimately, only a new currency could stabilize the country's financial situation. On 1 August 1946, Hungary reintroduced the
According to Bomberger and Makinen, the circulation of regular pengő notes peaked at around 76 septillion pengős (7.6×1025 = 76 million billion billion) on 15 July 1946.[8]: 810 The conversion rate therefore reduced the peak value of all circulating pengő notes to 0.019 filler (19⁄100000 forint), allowing the Hungarian National Bank to start over without having to redeem regular pengő notes.[10] By contrast, the largest tax bill in circulation (100000000 adópengős) was worth 50 fillérs each, and remained in circulation for a short time after the reform.[8]: 810
The reform also attempted to reduce the risk of hyperinflation on the forint, by setting the exchange rate for gold at 13.21 forints per gram:[10] however, nobody could convert forints at that rate.[8]: 814
Coins
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/HUP_2coin_1936_reverse.jpg/80px-HUP_2coin_1936_reverse.jpg)
In 1926, coins of 1, 2, 10, 20 and 50 fillér and 1 P were introduced. The 1f and 2f pieces were bronze, the 10f, 20f and 50f were cupro-nickel and the 1 P coins were 64% silver. In 1929, 2 P coins were introduced, also in 64% silver. Commemorative 2 P and 5 P coins were also issued on anniversaries, with a non-commemorative 5 P coin issued in 1939.
During the Second World War, the 1 f. coin ceased production, the 2 f. coins were issued in steel and then zinc, the 10 f. and 20 f. coins were minted in steel and the 1 P, 2 P and 5 P pieces were struck in aluminium.
In 1945, the provisional government introduced new aluminium 5 P coins, the last issued before the hyperinflation.
Paper money
The Hungarian National Bank issued the first series of 5 P, 10 P, 20 P, 50 P, 100 P banknotes in the last days of 1926. These were offset prints on watermarked paper (except for the 5 P note). The banknotes featured notable Hungarian people on the obverse and either different locations in Budapest or paintings on the reverse; the banknotes also served educational purposes.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/HUP_10_1929_obverse.jpg/150px-HUP_10_1929_obverse.jpg)
A new series of banknotes soon had to be printed to meet higher security standards. The engravings were executed and designed by Endre Horváth, a Hungarian graphic artist. New 5 P, 10 P, 20 P, 50 P and 100 P pengő notes were printed and a 1000 P banknote was added to this series - however, the latter had such a high value that it was rarely used except for large cash transactions between businesses and banks. This new series had almost the same features as the previous ones. 5 P notes were soon replaced with silver coins.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/HUP_10_1936_obverse.jpg/150px-HUP_10_1936_obverse.jpg)
After the Vienna Award, Hungary had to supply its recovered territories with money. Since increasing the amount of silver coins would have been too expensive, 1 P and 5 P notes were issued in 1941 and 1938, respectively. These notes were of simple design and poor quality. Meanwhile, a series of new banknotes including 2 P, 5 P, 10 P and 20 P denominations was issued. The designs represented ornaments based on Hungarian folk art and people.
At the end of the Second World War, the Szálasi government and the occupying Soviet army issued provisional notes in the territories under their power, exacerbating inflation.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/HUP_10Mmil_1946_obverse.jpg/150px-HUP_10Mmil_1946_obverse.jpg)
In 1945 and 1946, hyperinflation caused the issuance of notes up to 100 million b.-P (100
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/HAP_10M_obverse.jpg/150px-HAP_10M_obverse.jpg)
The introduction of
The enormous amount of paper consumed during the production of adópengő notes caused a shortage of good quality security paper; this hindered the production of forint banknotes.
Historical exchange rates
Date | Pengő[11][12] |
---|---|
1 January 1927 | 5 P. 26 f. |
31 December 1937 | 5 P. 40 f. |
31 Mar 1941 | 5 P. 06 f. |
30 June 1944 | 33 P. 51 f. |
31 August 1945 | 1320 P |
31 October 1945 | 8200 P |
30 November 1945 | 108000 P |
31 December 1945 | 128000 P |
31 January 1946 | 795000 P |
31 March 1946 | 1750000 P |
30 April 1946 | 59000000000 P (5.9×1010 P) |
31 May 1946 | 42000000000000000 P (4.2×1016 P) |
10 July 1946 | 460000000000000000000000000000 P (4.6×1029 P) |
Date | Pengő[13] |
---|---|
1 January 1946 | 1 P |
1 February 1946 | 1 P. 70 f. |
1 March 1946 | 10 P |
1 April 1946 | 44 P |
1 May 1946 | 630 P |
1 June 1946 | 160000 P |
1 July 1946 | 7500000000 P (7.5×109 P) |
10 July 1946 | 2000000000000000000000 P (2×1021 P) |
See also
- Zimbabwean dollar
- Hungarian National Bank
- Hyperinflation
- Great Depression
- Names of large numbers
- Long and short scales
References
- ^ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/The_Hanke_Krus_Hyperinflation_Table.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ (in Hungarian) [1] (info on the etymology of the word pengő)
- ^ Full text
- ^ (in Hungarian) www.1000ev.hu (the Law No. XXXV 1925 – definition of the pengő value and related regulations)
- ^ (in Hungarian) mek.oszk.hu (Hungary in the 20th century)
- ^ a b Paal, Beatrix (June 2000). Measuring the Inflation of Parallel Currencies: An Empirical Reevaluation Of the Second Hungarian Hyperinflation (PDF). Stanford: Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Garami, Erika (1 November 2006). "Hyperinflation in numbers". Pénzportál (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ S2CID 154281087.
- ^ Linzmayer, Owen, ed. (1 July 2019). "Hungary". The Banknote Book (7 ed.). Owen W. Linzmayer. pp. 21–22.
- ^ ISSN 0031-496X.
- ^ (in Hungarian) www.centropa.hu Archived 2007-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in Hungarian) www.numismatics.hu Archived 2005-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (in English) "Hungary - Postal History - Hyperinflation, pg. 3". Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). ISBN 0873411501.
- Pick, Albert (1994). ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
Notes
- ^ The 1000 P banknote was, along with 10 P and 100 P notes, only issued as part of the Veszprém series, during which coins were never issued.
Further reading
- Gyula Rádóczy; Géza Tasnádi (1992). Magyar papírpénzek 1848-1992 (Hungarian paper money 1848-1992). Danubius Kódex Kiadói Kft. ISBN 963-7434-11-9.
- Károly Leányfalusi; Ádám Nagy (1998). Magyarország fém- és papírpénzei 1926-1998 (Coins and paper money of Hungary 1926-1998). Magyar Éremgyűjtők Egyesülete, Budapest. ISBN 963-03-6023-3.
- Mihály Kupa id. dr. (1993). Corpus notarum pecuniariarum Hungariae I-II. (Magyar Egyetemes Pénzjegytár) (General Hungarian Banknote Catalog). Informatika Történeti Múzeum Alapítvány, Budapest. ISBN 963-04-3658-2.
- Bomberger, W. A.; Makinen, G. E. (1980). "Indexation, Inflationary Finance, and Hyperinflation: The 1945–1946 Hungarian Experience". S2CID 153409632.
External links
- (in Hungarian and English) bankjegy.szabadsagharcos.org (Hungarian banknote catalog)
- (in Hungarian and English) www.numismatics.hu (Roman and Hungarian related numismatic site)
- (in Hungarian) papirpenz.hu (pictures of korona, pengő and forint banknotes)
- (in Hungarian, English, German, and French) www.eremgyujtok.hu (homepage of the Hungarian Coin Collectors' Society)
- (in Hungarian) [2] article on the history of the pengő
Preceded by: Hungarian korona Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 pengő = 12,500 korona |
Currency of Hungary 1 January 1927 – 31 July 1946 Concurrent with: adópengő since 1 January 1946 Note: korona notes overstamped to pengő in 1926 were not legally considered pengő |
Succeeded by: Hungarian forint Reason: Hyperinflation Ratio: 1 forint = 4×1029 pengő Note: notes were denominated in milpengő and b.-pengő for practical reasons |
Preceded by: Yugoslav 1920 dinar Reason: Hungarian occupation |
Currency of Međimurje (as part of Hungary )1941 – 1945 |
Succeeded by: Yugoslav 1945 dinar Reason: reunification of Yugoslavia as a result of World War II and end of Hungarian occupation |
Preceded by: Czechoslovak koruna Reason: First Vienna Award |
Currency of southern Slovakia (as part of Hungary) 1938 – 1945 |
Succeeded by: Czechoslovak koruna Reason: reunification of Czechoslovakia as a result of World War II and end of Hungarian occupation |
Currency of Governorate of Subcarpathia (as part of Hungary )1938 – 1945 |
Succeeded by: Soviet ruble Reason: became part of Ukraine SSR, Soviet Union as a result of World War II and end of Hungarian occupation | |
Preceded by: Romanian leu Reason: Second Vienna Award |
Currency of Northern Transylvania (as part of Hungary) 1940 – 1944 |
Succeeded by: Romanian leu Reason: returned to Romania as a result of World War II and end of Hungarian occupation |