The largest banknote denominations. What does a million, billion and trillion dollars look like? 1 million ruble banknote

Large denomination banknotes have been encountered quite often throughout the paper monetary history of mankind, which cannot be said about large denomination coins. One of the reasons for this was the cheapness of making banknotes, since it is easier to print a bunch of million-dollar bills, often not backed by hard currency, than to mint a bunch of million-dollar coins that have intrinsic value.

Largest banknote denomination in the world

The anti-record holder for the level of inflation - because of which, in fact, the uncontrolled issue of banknotes begins - in 1945-1946. became Hungary. The monetary unit of the pengyo state in a matter of post-war months depreciated to 128,000 state units per dollar. The first millions were released, which also failed to stop the accelerating inflation. The introduction of surrogate money for intrabank circulation - adopengo - somewhat stabilized the situation, but... not for long.

The simultaneous collapse of ersatz money and state currency led to the addition of several more zeros on banknotes. To reduce the number of zeros on banknotes, the standard million pengyo was called milpengyo. Now they printed money in denominations from 10,000 milpengo to 1 billion milpengo. But prices continued to rise: every day they rose 5 times, so milpengo soon became an insufficiently large unit, and a new one was introduced - bilpengo (B-pengo, billion pengo or 1∙10 12). The next hyperinflationary money had a denomination from 10 thousand bilpengo to 100 million bilpengo. In the vaults of the state bank there was already a bill of sextillion pengyos (1∙10 21 pengyos) prepared for issue, which was not destined to go into circulation, but was destined to become the largest banknote in the world at face value.

With the introduction of the forint (a new monetary unit) into the economy, the exchange rate for which was 4∙10 29 pengo to 1 forint, it was possible to overcome the catastrophic hyperinflation in the entire history of mankind. In memory of her, amazing banknotes for digital calculation remained.

Large Hungarian banknotes

(1. The world's largest banknote worth a billion trillion or sextillion, or 1∙10 21 pengyō, or 1 billion bilpengyō; 2. 100 million trillion pengyo or 100 million bilpengyo; 3. 1 billion milpengyo; 4. 10 million adopengyo )

Other large banknote denominations

During the Second World War Greece experienced a period of hyperinflation, in which prices doubled every 28 hours. In 1944, inflation reached its peak. It was then that banknotes with the highest denomination for the country were issued - 100 billion (in Russia trillion) drachmas. Soon a denomination was carried out in the state.

Banknotes of large denominations of Greece (the first is the largest at 100 trillion drachmas (Greek: disekatommýrio - billion, ekatommýrio - million))

No less large-scale hyperinflation was experienced Germany in the 1920s. It all started with the release of paper money worth 5 million marks in the post-war period. In 1923, a banknote with a face value of 100 trillion came into circulation. marks (current price about $3,000). In 1924 the mark was replaced by the Reichsmark.

Examples of German hyperbanknotes (the first is the largest at 100 trillion marks, the next one is 1 billion marks, the third is 100 billion marks)

Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe at the beginning of the 21st century became the reason for the appearance on the state market of banknotes with a huge number of zeros, for example, 100 trillion. dollars. Having concluded that it was no longer possible to stop the depreciation of the national currency (according to unofficial statistics at the end of 2008, Zimbabwean inflation amounted to 6.5∙10108% (quinquatrigintillion)), the country's government banned the circulation of the Zimbabwean dollar in 2009.

Had a slightly smaller number of zeros on banknotes Yugoslavia. Hyperinflation, caused by internal instability in the country and constant hostilities after the collapse of the SFRY, caused the issue of money (bonds) in denominations from 100,000 to 500 billion dinars in 1993. The “new dinar”, which somewhat slowed down inflation, was introduced in 1994. From now on, banknotes were printed in smaller denominations.

Banknotes of Yugoslavia (the first - the largest banknote of the country)

At one time they could boast of large denominations on paper money Peru(1 and 5 million inti), Belarus(5 million Belarusian rubles), Ukraine(1 million karbovanets), Argentina(1 million pesos), Poland(1 million zlotys) and some other countries.

Large banknotes of various countries (2 banknotes of Peru, banknotes of Belarus, Ukraine, Argentina, Poland (from left to right))

The largest banknotes of the current time by purchasing power

In 2000, the Bank of Thailand issued 500,000 Thai baht, which is today the government currency. Circulation 1998 pcs.

Despite the significant depreciation of $10,000 USA have one of the most significant purchasing powers in the world. Now this banknote is subject to confiscation. There are just over a hundred copies of it left in the world. Ceased production in 1944.

The largest banknote of Tsarist Russia in terms of purchasing power and denomination

Paper money was not held in high esteem under tsarism. The state monetary system was built on the circulation of metallic money. Nevertheless, on the territory of the monarchy, first banknotes, credit notes, and later stamps and rubles, which were made for ease of use and transportation, were still circulated. The 500 rubles of 1898/1912 had the greatest purchasing power among all the variety of royal money. They were provided with 387.1 grams of gold. The size of the 1912 banknote is 275×126 mm. The popular name is “petenka”.

The largest banknotes in the USSR by face value

The Transcaucasian SFSR became the anti-record holder for inflation among the countries of the USSR. Banknotes of the socialist republic in 1924 contained 6-9 zeros. The largest denomination is 10 billion rubles.

The largest denomination in Russia

The largest denominations of the Russian ruble are 100,000, 500,000 rubles of the 1995 model. After 2 years, all denominations were reduced a thousand times, but the drawings remained the same.

When it comes to money, it's always interesting. What new banknote was issued, what is depicted on it and how was it protected from possible fraudsters? All this is the subject of discussion and heated debate. Of no less interest is the largest bill in all its manifestations: size, value, solvency and other important indicators. To find out a little more about such details, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the ranking of the largest banknotes in the whole world.

The largest banknote in size

With dimensions of 33x23 cm, first place goes to the banknote that was in use during the Ming Dynasty (China, 1368 - 1399). It was called “guan” and, for comparison, was larger than a modern A4 sheet.

Modern banknote

If we talk about the largest banknote of our time, it is a banknote from Thailand with dimensions of 14.7x22.8 cm, which combines three denominations at once: 1, 5, 10 baht.

Linked only to gold. To the rest of the world currency - no.

The largest banknotes by face value

1. Penge. It comes first in importance. It was released in 1945 and was in circulation until 1946 in Hungary. Received its fame due to high level inflation, as a result of which, in January 1946, an adopengyo equal to two trillion pengyos was released into circulation, and on July 3 of the same year, a banknote with a face value of 1 billion trillion pengyos was released.

2. In second place you can put the East African dollar with a face value of 100 trillion. Such money was in use during times of hyperinflation that exceeded 8,000%.

3. A 5 million mark banknote was issued in Germany after the First World War (August, 1923). It existed only until August 1924. Through depreciation it was replaced by the Reichsmark, the exchange rate of which was one trillion existing marks.

It was the Russian banknote of 1924, which was in circulation in the Transcaucasian Soviet Republic. Its denomination was 1 billion rubles, for which the bill received an unspoken name among the locals - “limard”.

The Belarusian banknote issued in 1998 is slightly behind the “limard”. With a value of 5 million rubles, it can be classified as the second largest banknote in the CIS.

The largest banknote in everyday circulation

This banknote is usually called 100 American dollars. It is the most popular not only in the states, but throughout the world.

Rating of the largest banknotes by purchasing power

The purchasing power of a bill (value) is an indicator that determines the ability to buy a conditional amount of goods for it. The list shows the most solvent of all.

The size of 10 thousand is the US dollar bill. The beginning of printing is the 80s of the 19th century. Compared to modern years, then it was 10-12 times more expensive. But even now the bill comes first. There are 130 such banknotes in the world. Not for sale. Tracked by the Fed. It is withdrawn from circulation when it enters the banking system.

25 chervonets

(250 rubles), issued in 1922. Equal to 215 grams of the country's gold.

3. In the Russian Empire

The banknote, called “Petenka”, was in use in the period 1898-1917. Produced until 1912. Its cost was 430 grams of gold. And the size was very impressive - 27.5x12.6 cm. On the front side there was an image, from there popular name.

4. For internal payments.

There are two notes worth noting here:

The first was released in the pre-war period in Great Britain. It was equal to 1 million pounds sterling and was intended for monetary transactions in the banking environment. Today it is almost completely withdrawn from circulation.

Officially, only 2 banknotes remain, the value of which can be judged from the last auction in 2008. Then they offered 78 thousand pounds sterling for 1 piece.

The second is a US treasure equivalent to $100 thousand. It was first issued in 1934 in the form of a gold certificate. This form of issue implied the possibility of exchange for gold. Also used for settlements within banks and the Treasury.

Since its release, it was often found in use in the hands of robbers, since it was they who robbed banks and took away these banknotes that were not put into general circulation. Not currently available for sale.

Banknote as a sign of status

A special $1 million note was issued in 1988 as a sign of wealth and power. It was a kind of pass to the International Association of Millionaires. This monetary unit was equipped with the most effective means protection against counterfeiting.

On the front side was the Statue of Liberty. The circulation of banknotes amounted to 800 thousand copies, after which it was decided to remove the printing forms so that no one would have the opportunity to recreate such a masterpiece.

Speaking about the largest banknotes, it is worth mentioning an object that cannot be directly attributed to a monetary unit, but in appearance it is very similar to real money.

We are talking about the creation of Rimas Adomaitis, a Lithuanian architect who created a building that bears an amazing resemblance to a 1000 litas banknote. And although such a project literally has nothing to do with money, for its external similarity it deserves the title of the largest banknote in the world.

Money does not leave 99% of the world's population indifferent. True, only a few of this overwhelming majority are able to spend money on money. And even for those for which it is impossible to buy something. These rare people are called bonists - collectors of banknotes.

The white surface of the table is colorful. Tsarist rubles, German Reichsmarks, Ukrainian karbovanets - all these banknotes were once in the wallets of residents of different countries, and now they have migrated to the album of a Belarusian collector.

Name: Alexander Nikolaev (last name changed at the request of the hero)

Age: 21 years old

Business: finds and retails banknotes

Start-up capital: 50 dollars

At 21, Alexander Nikolaev is not only a student at BNTU, an instructor at the McDonald's restaurant, but also a collector with 10 years of experience. He keeps more than 370 banknotes from around the world at home. Perhaps, if it were still possible to buy something with this money, not only journalists, but also law enforcement officers would be interested in Alexander.

- Banknotes are assessed by age, denomination and condition. Nobody needs torn banknotes, and a brand new, uncirculated “denyuzhka” can be sold profitably,” the interlocutor shares his experience. - Inexperienced collectors sometimes overpay for banknotes that have not yet gone out of circulation. In fact, they cost slightly more than face value. They also charge inexpensively for Soviet rubles: there are too many of them in our latitudes.

Sasha’s collection began with Soviet rubles. At the age of 10, he found a stack of bills among old trash, which is usually stored in hard-to-reach corners of the closet. At this age, children are more interested in toys, but Sasha was interested in these colored pieces of paper.

Later I found out that they became pieces of paper in the year of my birth. In the 90s, depreciated Soviet rubles were lying on the streets of St. Petersburg and Moscow - Alexander, who was born after the collapse of the Union, knows about this from other people’s stories. At the age of 15, he joined a collectors' club, whose members collect not only banknotes, but also the stories associated with them. - Something similar happened with Japanese yen issued during World War II. Banknotes with swastikas stopped circulating not only in Germany after the defeat of the Nazis.

New currencies were issued in many German-occupied territories. Sasha shows one of these banknotes, calling it his “favorite money” - 50 karbovanets.

Karbovantsi Reichskommissariat Ukraine is the Ukrainian occupation currency, issued in 1942. On the front side is a portrait of a miner. The Germans liked to insert symbols of peaceful life on their monetary units in different countries. Actually, karbovanets are very expensive, but I got this bill for free,” Sasha lovingly smoothes the banknote.

Along with the Karbovanets, German Reichsmarks also circulated in parts of the territory of Ukraine. Today, banknotes from the most odious regime in world history are inexpensive. Sasha bought 5 Reichsmarks for 50 thousand. On the front side are the symbols of the Third Reich - a swastika and a portrait of a "true Aryan" with blond hair and correct facial features.

And these are Iraqi dinars with a portrait of Saddam Hussein. He immortalized himself on banknotes. I think these bills will soon increase in value, because after Hussein’s execution they were burned en masse. By the way, collectors somehow especially value banknotes of regimes that have compromised themselves, Sasha cites Nahar as an example. General Dzhokhar Dudayev planned to introduce this monetary unit on the territory of Chechnya, but the first and only series was destroyed, probably in battles with the Russian army.

Sasha, although not averse to adding nakharas to his collection, is not ready to shell out 200 euros for them - that’s how much they recently paid for three banknotes at one of the auctions. The excitement of collecting is not inherent in him at all, if by excitement we mean the willingness to pay everything for the desired banknote.

I specifically save money so as not to waste money at the collectors' club where I buy banknotes. Sometimes you come and your eyes widen! I want rubles, lei, and rupees, but I only have money for rubles.

This guy prefers to buy more banknotes at lower prices. A reasonable approach, considering that he can resell some of them later. Sasha earns extra money by selling banknotes at retail. It all started 3 years ago. Friends from Russia asked me to get Belarusian rubles and Polish zlotys. The fee was only 10 dollars. But it was as if a light bulb had lit up in Sasha’s head. He spent $50 to buy the first batch of bills to sell and began trading.

- ...That’s why I don’t take expensive coupons, unless it’s rare, like, for example, these 25 rubles with a portrait Alexandra III, - the interlocutor gets large bill in pink and green tones.

The price for such a ruble starts from 25 dollars. But Sasha was lucky: the opportunity to admire the portrait of the penultimate Russian Emperor he got it for free. The interlocutor points to the signatures of the manager State Bank and one of the cashiers standing on the bill.

Collectors collect rubles from managers and cashiers. Afanasyev, Ivanov, Ovchinnikov, Bogatyrev..., - Alexander lists the names of imperial officials from memory. - One of the cashiers, named Brutus, was a passionate gambler and owed money a large sum and hanged himself. There was a superstition among gamblers that the personal belongings of a hanged man would bring good luck. The ruble signed by Brutus is a stretch, but it began to be considered lucky. At the beginning of the 20th century it cost 20-25 ordinary rubles.

Sasha does not have a “Brutovsky ruble” in his collection, maybe that’s why his business is retail trade bonami has not yet outgrown the group stage into social network? Income from the sale of money does not exceed $100 per month. The guy is not upset and is in no hurry to look for the “Brutist ruble”. He's not superstitious at all. He doesn’t even keep a $2 bill in his wallet.

In our country, 2 dollars are considered to bring good luck, but in the US they were considered unlucky because they could easily be confused with 1 dollar. How lucky is it if you overpaid the cashier at the store? Rumors spread, and in the end people even refused to take change in these bills!

One of Sasha’s acquaintances believes that money will not be transferred if it is kept in Karl Marx’s book “Capital”. “Absurd!” our hero laughs. He is not tormented by thoughts of where to hide his money so that one fine day it does not dry up.

I've been working at McDonald's for four years now, and I even got a promotion. Rumors about how terrible it is here are spread by those who have never worked for us,” Sasha vigorously defends the reputation of his employers. - And I also eat in a restaurant. The same hamburgers and fries that are served to visitors. “I don’t weigh a centner,” the interlocutor rises. His physique is, indeed, like that of a typical student. - If they work at McDonald's fat people, which means they came like this and didn’t gain weight here.

Before the question about salaries, let’s digress to an interesting historical anecdote.

The 5 Kazakhstani tenge banknote depicts the musician and composer Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly. They say that he once played at Stalin’s banquet. The Generalissimo, being drunk, asked why this man unknown to him was playing. Other banquet participants jokingly suggested what the order wanted. Stalin nodded approvingly, and Kurmangazy received the order.

An interesting, albeit fictitious, story. In fact, the musician died in 1889, when Joseph Vissarionovich was still a child.

Company policy does not allow employees to disclose their salaries, but you can do the math yourself: full rate- 40 hours a week, an ordinary member of the restaurant crew is paid 18,100 per hour, - Sasha values ​​​​her work and is not going to reveal the secret of her salary.

By the way, Sasha owes the most expensive banknote in his collection to his colleagues. This is a “money” of 1 million Belarusian rubles, from which the National Bank “cut off” three zeros in 2000. In 13 years, the price has risen to $30, but Sasha was lucky here too.

I asked everyone at work if they had any unwanted old money. But I never expected that my colleague would bring a million ruble bill. This is simply a gift of life,” Sasha recalls with pleasure how fortunate the circumstances were then.

His dream is to replenish his collection with Chechen nahars and Belarusian rubles from 1994, which Belarusians never saw. While the money was waiting in the National Bank's vaults, the country's president and coat of arms changed. It is not known exactly what happened to the ideologically outdated banknotes. But Sasha still hopes to find them - bills that can’t buy anything else.

A person who thinks outside the box has unexpected answers to the most trivial questions. Including the question of how to make money. It is especially relevant in youth, when you want everything at once, but the paths to achieving what you want are poorly visible. In the “Generation $” project, the site will talk about representatives of Belarusian youth who, by their example, prove that good idea- that's half the battle, but best job- This is a paid hobby.
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100 million. This is already serious. Both in size and weight. You can’t carry that much money on your own; you need to order (or immediately buy) a truck for transportation. Weight about 1,000 kg.

1 billion. For transportation here you will need something more serious: a truck or a cargo container. After all, 10 tons of money is impressive. For comparison, this amount will completely fill a standard apartment of 30 square meters to the ceiling. meters. Imagine - an apartment full of money!!!

1 trillion dollars.

It’s even difficult to imagine such an amount, but let’s try. If you want to move your trillion across railway— 2,500 wagons will be needed. The train of such cash containers will stretch for 35 km. And if instead of hundred-dollar bills we put change in the form of one-dollar bills, the length of our train will be 3,500 km. For comparison: from Moscow to London is about 2,500 km.

To spend a trillion dollars you will need to spend a million dollars every day for almost 3 thousand years.

Not weak!

This is what America's national debt looks like