10000 pengo w/blue adhesive stamp, 1945, Hungary (Pick-119c)

During the chaos of the Hungarian hyperinflation of 1945–1946, many Hungarian banknotes were fitted with adhesive stamps as an emergency measure to control the collapsing currency. These stamps were typically added during currency reforms or revaluations, allowing old notes to remain in circulation but with modified or reduced value without the need to print entirely new banknotes immediately. In some cases, they also served as validation marks to distinguish officially recognized notes from invalid or withdrawn issues. 

After World War II, Hungarian hyperinflation of 1945–1946 became one of the most extreme cases of hyperinflation ever recorded. As the economy lay in ruins and the government printed money to cover massive deficits, prices spiraled out of control at an almost unimaginable rate - doubling sometimes within hours. To keep up, Hungary issued banknotes with absurdly large denominations, including the pengő, then the milpengő (millions of pengő), and eventually the b.-pengő (billions of pengő). The most famous was the 100 quintillion (10²⁰) pengő note, among the highest denomination banknotes ever printed. Despite these astronomical figures, the currency quickly became worthless, forcing Hungary to abandon the pengő entirely and introduce the forint in August 1946, finally stabilizing the economy.

SKU bh923-w77454