Hungarian pengő

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The pengő (sometimes referred to as pengo or pengoe in English) is a former currency of Hungary, used between 1 January 1927 when it replaced the Hungarian korona and 31 July 1946 when it was replaced by the forint after a period of intense hyperinflation. The symbol of the pengő was P and it was divided into 100 fillér (symbol: f).

Contents 1 History 1.1 Introduction 1.2 End of the pengő 2 Coins 3 Paper money 4 Statistics 4.1 Historical exchange rates 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links 8 Further reading

[edit] History

[edit] Introduction

After the First World War, according to the Treaty of Saint-Germain, the Austro-Hungarian Bank (the joint bank of the Monarchy) had to be liquidated and the Austro-Hungarian krone had to be replaced with a different currency, which in the case of Hungary was the Hungarian korona. This currency suffered a high rate of inflation and was replaced in 1 January 1927 by a new currency, the pengő. The pengő was introduced by the Law No. XXXV 1925.^[1] It was valued at 12 500 korona, and defined as 3 800 to one kilogram of gold. The gold cover was 60% in 1927. Until the Great Depression, the pengő was the most stable currency of the region.^[2]

[edit] End of the pengő

The pengő lost value after the Second World War, suffering the highest rate of hyperinflation ever recorded. The pengő was revalued. However, this did not stop the hyperinflation and prices continued spiralling out of control, with ever higher denominations introduced. The denominations milpengő (= 1 000 000 pengő), and bilpengő or b.-pengő (= 1 000 000 milpengő or 1 000 000 000 000 pengő) were used to cut down on the number of zeroes needed on the notes.

The largest denomination produced was 100 quintillion (10²⁰) pengő, denominated as 100 million b.-pengő on the notes (see image). The note was issued in 1946, and was at the time worth about US$ 0.20.

Notes for one sextillion (10²¹) pengő, denominated as one milliard b.-pengő, were printed but never issued (see image).

The adópengő (lit. "tax pengő") was introduced on 1 January 1946, at a par with the pengő, and was initially for the payment of taxes, but it was allowed to be used as a legal tender from May 9, 1946 on. It was intended to retain its value as the pengő's fell. However, although its value rose dramatically relative to the pengő (finally reaching 2×10²¹ pengő), the adópengő nevertheless suffered severely from inflation.

The Hungarian economy could only be stabilized by the introduction of a new currency, and so, on August 1, 1946, the forint was introduced at a rate of four hundred octillion (4×10²⁹) pengő, or 400 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 pengő. The adópengő was replaced at a rate of two hundred million to the forint (hence the 2×10²¹ ratio, mentioned above). The exchange rate for the US dollar was set at 11.74 forints.

[edit] Coins

Main article: Hungarian pengő coins

Before the World War II, small change coins were made of bronze and cupronickel, while pengő coins of silver. Some commemorative coins were also issued on anniversaries. During the second world war, coins either were made of lower value metal or replaced by banknotes. Short after the war, coins were recalled due to hyperinflation.

[edit] Paper money

Main article: Hungarian pengő paper money

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Historical exchange rates

Exchange rates (1 XXX = ? pengő)

Date	USD[3][4]
January 1938	5.40
March 1941	5.06
June 1944	33.51
July 1945	1320
November 1945	108 000
January 1946	795 000
March 1946	1 750 000
May 1946	59 000 000 000 (5.9×1010)
July 1946	460 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 (4.6×1029)

[edit] See also

• Hungarian National Bank
• Hyperinflation
• Great Depression
• Names of large numbers
• Long and short scales

[edit] Notes

1. ^ (Hungarian) www.1000ev.hu (the Law No. XXXV 1925 - definition of the pengő value and related regulations)
2. ^ (Hungarian) www.penzportal.hu (Introduction of the pengő)
3. ^ (Hungarian) www.centropa.hu
4. ^ (Hungarian) www.numismatics.hu

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bills of Hungary

• (Hungarian) (English) bankjegy.szabadsagharcos.org (Hungarian banknote catalog)
• (Hungarian) (English) www.numismatics.hu (Roman and Hungarian related numismatic site)
• (Hungarian) papirpenz.hu (pictures of korona, pengő and forint banknotes)
• (Hungarian) (English) (German) (French) www.eremgyujtok.hu (homepage of the Hungarian Coin Collectors' Society)
• aes.iupui.edu/rwise (pictures of Hungarian banknotes at Ron Wise's World Paper Money Homepage)
• worldcoingallery.com (pictures of Hungarian coins at Don's World Coin Gallery)

[edit] Further reading

• Gyula Rádóczy, Géza Tasnádi (1992). Magyar papírpénzek 1848-1992 (Hungarian paper money 1848-1992). Danubius Kódex Kiadói Kft. ISBN 9637434119.
• Károly Leányfalusi, Ádám Nagy (1998). Magyarország fém- és papírpénzei 1926-1998 (Coins and paper money of Hungary 1926-1998). Magyar Éremgyűjtők Egyesülete, Budapest. ISBN 963036060233.
• Mihály Kupa id. dr. (1993). Corpus notarum pecuniariarum Hungariae I-II. (Magyar Egyetemes Pénzjegytár) (General Hungarian Banknote Catalog). Informatika Történeti Múzeum Alapítvány, Budapest. ISBN 9630436582.

Preceded by Hungarian korona

Hungarian currency 1927-1946

Succeeded by Hungarian forint

Historical currencies of Hungary
Currency Forint 1867–1892 Korona 1892–1918 Korona 1919–1926 Pengő 1927–1946 Adópengő 1946 Forint 1946–present Coins coins coins coins - coins Paper money paper money paper money paper money paper money
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