Devaluation of the Dollar and Hyperinflation

I dreamt I went up to the cash register to pay for an item. When I pulled out my money to pay, the dollar had devaluated by hundreds of dollars. (Note from David: The dollar became valued at hundredths of its former value. Hundreds of dollars would be worth less than a dollar.) I had several hundred dollars in my hand to pay for a $60 item, but that wasn't enough. By the time I was quoted the price and was in the process of paying, the dollar lost its value by hundreds. (I had another, different card that would purchase the item.) Then after that it was the barter system.

A day's wage for a loaf of bread is coming to our doorstep.

* Berlin - December 1918 bread was 0.5 Marks; November 1923 bread was 201,000,000,000 Marks

* One egg in 1913 was 0.08 Mark; November 1923 one egg was 80,000,000,000 Marks

* One pair of shoes in 1913 was 12.00 Marks; November of 1923 shoes were 32,000,000,000,000 Marks

One man said: I dropped into a cafe to have a coffee. As I went in I noticed the price was 5000 marks - just about what I had in my pocket. I sat down, read my paper, drank my coffee, and spent altogether about one hour in the cafe, and then asked for the bill. The waiter duly presented me with a bill for 8000 marks. "Why 8000 marks?" I asked. The mark had dropped in the meantime, I was told. So I gave the waiter all the money I had, and he was generous enough to leave it at that. -- The memories of a German writer

One of the causes of the inflation was Germany printed more and more money to pay off war debts.

Does that sound familiar? We call it stimulus and buybacks.

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