Hungary 1946: The Worst Hyperinflation in History (Pengő)
In July 1946 the Hungarian pengő was losing value so fast that prices roughly doubled about every 15 hours (Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table, Cato Institute), the most extreme hyperinflation ever documented. The notes that crisis printed carried the highest face values in monetary history, and collectors can still hold genuine pengő and milpengő examples today.
Last updated: July 2026
Hungary's 1946 pengő collapse is the worst hyperinflation ever recorded, with prices roughly doubling about every 15 hours at its peak in July 1946, according to the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table published by the Cato Institute. To keep cash usable, the government stacked ever-larger accounting units onto the currency, the milpengő and the adópengő, and issued a note equal to 100 quintillion pengő, a one followed by twenty zeros. An even larger note was printed but never released before the forint replaced the pengő in August 1946. This guide walks through how the collapse happened, the units and record notes it produced, and how to collect the surviving paper today.
Why was Hungary 1946 the worst hyperinflation in history?
Because no other documented currency lost value as fast. At the peak in July 1946, prices roughly doubled about every 15 hours, a rate that outpaces every other episode in the record, including Zimbabwe in 2008 and Weimar Germany in 1923 (Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table, Cato Institute). At that pace, money set aside in the morning bought meaningfully less by the next day, and any pengő held for long lost most of its purchasing power. The quick facts below are order-of-magnitude figures, presented the way the historical record documents them.
The collapse followed the Second World War. Hungary emerged with its industry wrecked, heavy reparations to pay, and a central bank that met the shortfall by printing money. Once prices began chasing the money supply, the spiral fed itself, and the interval between price doublings compressed from months to weeks to, by mid-1946, a matter of hours.
What were the pengő, milpengő, and adópengő?
They were the base currency and the accounting units Hungary layered on top of it to keep printed numbers legible. The pengő was introduced in 1927 as a stable currency after Hungary's earlier post-war inflation. By 1946 a single pengő was worth so little that the treasury needed shorthand for the enormous figures involved, so it turned to named multiples like the milpengő and to a separate inflation-indexed unit, the adópengő. The table below sorts them out.
| Unit | What it stood for | Why it existed |
|---|---|---|
| Pengő | The base currency, introduced 1927 | Hungary's everyday money until the 1946 reform. Every larger unit is a multiple of it. |
| Milpengő | One million pengő | A printed unit so a single note could stand for a million pengő without twelve digits on its face. As zeros kept multiplying, still larger named units followed. |
| Adópengő ("tax pengő") | An inflation-indexed accounting unit | Introduced by the treasury so tax revenue would not evaporate between assessment and payment. Its value was revalued daily, and it was eventually issued as notes of its own. |
The milpengő is why so many surviving notes read as modest numbers yet represent astronomical sums. A note marked in milpengő or a larger unit could equal millions, billions, or in the extreme case quintillions of base pengő. That layering is also what let the mint keep pace, at least on paper, with a currency whose prices were doubling about every 15 hours.
What was the highest-denomination pengő note ever printed?
The largest note actually issued equalled 100 quintillion pengő, a one followed by twenty zeros, and it is generally documented as the highest face value on any banknote ever put into circulation. Its printed face used an abbreviated pengő unit rather than spelling out all twenty zeros. An even larger note, equal to one sextillion pengő, a one followed by twenty-one zeros, was fully printed but never released into circulation before the currency was replaced. It survives today mainly as specimen pieces held by collectors and institutions.
How this compares to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's famous 100 trillion dollar note (Pick P-91) carries fourteen zeros and is the highest-denomination note of the modern era. Hungary's 1946 pengő reached far higher face values, with twenty zeros on its top issued note. Both records are documented, and both notes are collected for the same reason: a number so large it stops meaning anything. See our Zimbabwe hyperinflation guide for that side of the story.
What replaced the pengő?
The forint, introduced on August 1, 1946, ended the crisis almost overnight. The conversion that retired the pengő was so extreme that the entire outstanding supply of pengő, quintillions of them, was worth only a negligible amount of new currency. Backed by a stabilization program and tighter money, the forint held its value, and it remains Hungary's currency today. That clean break is why pengő notes exist only as collectibles now, with no path back to spendable currency.
How does Hungary compare to the other great hyperinflations?
Hungary sits at the top of the severity ranking, ahead of every other episode collectors follow. The Hanke-Krus table documents dozens of hyperinflations; the handful below left behind the most collected notes, and Hungary's pengő outran them all.
Zimbabwe in 2008 ranks second, with peak inflation near 79.6 billion percent month-on-month in mid-November 2008 (Steve Hanke, Cato Institute). Yugoslavia in January 1994 reached monthly inflation on the order of hundreds of millions of percent and issued a 500 billion dinara note. Weimar Germany peaked around 29,500 percent monthly in October 1923, the crisis of wheelbarrows full of Papiermark. Greece under the 1944 Axis occupation ran into the tens of thousands of percent monthly, with notes reaching 100 billion drachmai. All figures are drawn from the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table, presented as order-of-magnitude values. The full standings, with each record note, live on our every hyperinflation ranked page.
Can you still collect Hungarian pengő notes?
Yes. Genuine pengő and milpengő notes from the 1946 collapse survive in large numbers and reach the market in a range of conditions, from well-circulated to crisp Uncirculated. Because the forint retired the pengő completely, these notes have no monetary value, so what you are buying is the physical record of the most extreme hyperinflation ever documented. Planet Banknote stocks Hungarian pengő and milpengő notes and pairs them with other crisis currencies in curated sets.
A practical way in: start with a single high-denomination pengő or milpengő note for the story it tells, or buy a multi-country hyperinflation set that places Hungary next to Zimbabwe, Germany, Yugoslavia, and Greece in one frame. If you want independent confirmation of condition, look for notes certified by PMG or PCGS, both of which authenticate a note and grade it on a 1 to 70 scale, then seal it in a tamper-evident holder. Our banknote grading guide explains how those grades work.
Every note Planet Banknote sells passes our Planet Banknote Verified inspection and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity, so provenance is tied to a named, reachable business. Questions about ordering, shipping, or returns are answered on our FAQ page.
Frequently asked questions
What was the worst hyperinflation in history?
Hungary in July 1946 is the worst hyperinflation ever documented. At its peak, prices roughly doubled about every 15 hours, according to the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table published by the Cato Institute. Zimbabwe in 2008 ranks second, and Yugoslavia in 1994 ranks third.
What was the highest-denomination pengő note?
The highest-denomination note Hungary actually issued equalled 100 quintillion pengő, a one followed by twenty zeros, generally documented as the largest face value on any banknote ever put into circulation. An even larger note worth one sextillion pengő, a one followed by twenty-one zeros, was printed but never released into circulation before the forint replaced the pengő.
What were the milpengő and adópengő?
They were units Hungary layered onto the pengő to cope with hyperinflation. The milpengő equalled one million pengő and let a single note stand for a million without printing twelve digits on its face. The adópengő, or "tax pengő", was a separate inflation-indexed accounting unit the treasury revalued daily so tax revenue would not evaporate, and it was later issued as notes of its own.
What replaced the Hungarian pengő?
The forint, introduced on August 1, 1946, replaced the pengő and ended the hyperinflation. The conversion was so extreme that the entire outstanding stock of pengő was worth only a negligible amount of new currency, effectively wiping out the old money. The forint held its value and remains Hungary's currency today, which is why pengő notes now exist only as collectibles.
Are Hungarian pengő notes worth collecting?
Yes, for the history rather than as spendable money. The forint retired the pengő completely, so these notes have no monetary value, and what you own is a physical artifact of the most extreme hyperinflation ever recorded. Genuine pengő and milpengő notes survive in quantity and are affordable, and Planet Banknote stocks them individually and in curated hyperinflation sets. Every note is inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity.
Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.