This is what a 100,000,000,000,000 dollar bank note looks like
Ever wanted to be a trillionaire? Well now you can, and it could cost you as little as £750 if you buy one of the world’s strangest and rarest banknotes.
The cash in question is the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe 100 Trillion Dollars 2008 Pick 91s Specimen PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ.
It was issued during the country’s period of hyperinflation in the later years of Robert Mugabe’s rule.
According to PMG’s (Paper Money Guarantee) census records, more than 11,900 regular examples of the note were issued, along with 666 replacement notes. However, only five specimen versions are known — including the one offered in the auction.
The bizarre high denomination note has an estimate of £750 but bids open lower. It is among the highlights of Heritage Auctions’ World Paper Money Signature sale on March 26.
Other items in the sale include an exceptionally rare example of the highest-denomination Lebanese banknote, The Lebanon Banque de Syrie et du Liban 250 Livres 1939 Pick 21 PMG Extremely Fine 40.
Regarded as one of the most elusive pieces in world paper money collecting, it was the highest denomination printed in Lebanon until the severe inflation of the 1970s and 1980s.
The note was the top value in the first 1939 series printed by the Bank of France and was worth five times more than the next-highest denomination in the set. It is believed that just 112,000 were printed, with almost all redeemed decades ago.
Auctioneers say the Lebanese rarity is only one of many notable items in the sale.
Dustin Johnston, Senior Vice President at Heritage Auctions, said: Collectors of banknotes from around the globe will find plenty in this auction that will make impressive additions to their collections.
‘Many of the lots in this auction are fresh, having been off the market for a long time.
‘It includes extraordinary selections of exceptional banknotes from a number of countries, like Austria, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Russia and Costa Rica, many of which are the finest selections from those nations ever offered at Heritage.’
Another striking item in the auction is a Singapore Board of Commissioners of Currency 10,000 Dollars ND (1980) Pick 17a TAN#B-9a PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ.
Singapore’s 10,000 note was issued for roughly four decades from 1972. The example offered comes from the Bird Series produced from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.
Its large format and detailed design have made it particularly popular with collectors.
The two sides depict Singapore’s skyline and waterfront in different eras, reflecting the city-state’s rapid transformation into a global financial centre.
Of the 290 examples graded by PMG, only nine have received a higher grade than the note offered in the sale.
Collectors will also find a Costa Rica Banco Internacional de Costa Rica 2 Colones 10.3.1936 Pick 167 PMG Choice Uncirculated 64, widely known as the “Mona Lisa Note”.
The design features an engraved image of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting on the front and a rural scene on the reverse.