FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-119

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (July 10, 2026) – This edition of FWM tells an unimaginable tale of inflation woe on this date in history.

Printing Money

Many countries have experienced high rates of inflation.  Usually, it is caused by missteps in monetary policy, economic and political instability.

None was worse than what Hungary experienced in 1945-1946.  The worst day was July 10, 1946, with 348% inflation that day.

To illustrate this trend further, a loaf of bread sold for 6 Pengo in August 1945, by May 1946 9.5 million Pengo and a month later 7.2 billion Pengo.

Daily life was totally disrupted.  Workers were paid daily and they immediately used their money to buy necessities.

The causes were numerous, but mostly the war destruction with 40% of the country’s wealth gone, economic collapse, poor monetary policy with printing more money continually and external pressures of reparations to the Soviet Union.

The solution came on August 1, 1946 with the introduction of a new currency, the Forint, which is used to this day.

This map of Hungary issued in 1930 shows it as it was on the eve of World War I.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.