10 000 Pengő

This note belongs to the catastrophic inflation sequence that overtook Hungary between 1945 and 1946 — arguably the worst hyperinflation in recorded history. By the time the pengő was replaced by the forint in August 1946, the exchange rate had reached 400 octillion pengő to one forint. The 10,000 denomination, which would have seemed extraordinary in peacetime, became functionally worthless within months of issue.

The print run of just over 12 million is modest by the standards of the later inflation notes, which were churned out in ever-larger denominations as the currency collapsed in real time.