Hyperinflation is hard to grasp, harder still to tolerate

IN 1946 Gyorgy Faludy, a Hungarian poet, received 300bn pengo for a new edition of his works. The sum would have been worth $60bn before the second world war. But after the Nazis departed with Hungary’s gold reserves and the Russians occupied its territory, the country’s currency was not what it was—and becoming even less so. After collecting the money, Faludy rushed to the nearby market and spent it all on a chicken, two litres of cooking oil and a handful of vegetables.