Does money or 'currency' ever really become worthless?

[SidS]

I've been thinking about this for a while now, but as the topic title states does money or currency ever become worthless?

I know Mike Maloney and others state that fiat currencies always revert to their true value of zero.

Now whilst it's true that currencies certainly can plummet in value, think of the German Mark of the early 1920s or the French livre assignats of the 1790s - they certainly weren't worth the paper they were printed on at the time, but their value as collector pieces seems to negated them becoming worth nothing.

Same goes for ancient Roman base metal coins. For another example, there's no end of old decimal coins, large 10p/50p etc. for sale on eBay and they seem to be worth more now than they were when they were culled from circulation. Same goes for old pre-decimal bronze coins.

As for precious metal coinage, they obviously preserve their purchasing power much better, being actual money.

So do currencies or money ever become worthless, or do they always retain some value? Even if the form or reason for that value changes over time.

[sixgun]

My bet is most of the currency people here hold is digital, so when it goes to zero it will be worth zero.
So keep swapping out fiat for real money - gold and silver.

[GoldenGriffin]

Good question!

I would say, if fiat currency is in circulation, it's worth 'something'.

If fiat currency is not in circulation, it can still be worth 'something', but what it buys you is less over time, but never absolute zero, surely!

It probably depends on what it is, what it stands for, condition, history etc. 

It could be worth 'something' to a collector or for sentimental reasons.

Collectors grade old fiat currency notes.  I really like the designs on some of the old notes...

Like this one!!!

I'd pay 'something' for one in good condition!

Edited March 16, 2022 by GoldenGriffin

[Paul]

I think you're right it doesn't go truly to zero, but simply gets reset, revalued or zeros added.to the new notes

 So although £20 is still £20, it just won't get you the same amount of 'stuff' as we are experiencing and going through now 

Mike Maloney's latest video I watched in past few days explains the multi trillion value lost of Russian multiples revaluations in past 200 years, all under the same label of the generic 'rouble'

 

 

[ady]

Fletch in Porridge, showed what could be currency in a restricted environment (bog roll, tooth paste, chocolate and tins of pineapples!), fiat currency is all a matter of trust and history should be your guide.

[LawrenceChard]

4 hours ago, SidS said:

I've been thinking about this for a while now, but as the topic title states does money or currency ever become worthless?

I know Mike Maloney and others state that fiat currencies always revert to their true value of zero.

Now whilst it's true that currencies certainly can plummet in value, think of the German Mark of the early 1920s or the French livre assignats of the 1790s - they certainly weren't worth the paper they were printed on at the time, but their value as collector pieces seems to negated them becoming worth nothing.

Same goes for ancient Roman base metal coins. For another example, there's no end of old decimal coins, large 10p/50p etc. for sale on eBay and they seem to be worth more now than they were when they were culled from circulation. Same goes for old pre-decimal bronze coins.

As for precious metal coinage, they obviously preserve their purchasing power much better, being actual money.

So do currencies or money ever become worthless, or do they always retain some value? Even if the form or reason for that value changes over time.

As money, some do, and most have.

But, as other members have said, there often remains some residual value for collectors, or other purposes, scrap metal, for example.

Before the euro, a common French coin was a nickel-brass 10 Francs, issued from 1974 to 1987. Their foreign exchange value in pounds sterling was about £1 each. Shortly after the euro's introduction, the French government stopped accepting these for redemption. We probably have a bagful or so of them, and would be delighted if we could get 10 pence each for them, but this is doubtful.

[Bigmarc]

My father travelled the world most of his life through work. When he died, I was sorting out a few bits and discovered hundreds of notes and must have been a thousand coins all dating through the 60s up to current currency. I picked out a few to keep and spent weeks listing the rest on eBay. Every single note sold to various collectors even tho some were in poor condition and there was quite a few bidding wars going on. Coins on the other hand were a little more difficult and ended up selling in batches and most were sold and just goes to show that they still hold some value, not necessarily as currency but more as history. 

[MetalMandible]

Only paper is capable of becoming truly worthless.  Metal on the other hand...

[davidb]

Some paper currencies (promises to pay - recent 21st Century examples are Venezuelan and Zimbabwean ones) completely lose the confidence of people resulting in hyperinflation and negligible remaining residual value.  Some have also disappeared via currency unions.  Other leading paper currencies inflate away slowly, often over an average lifespan they lose much of their value in real terms as paper currency debasement is widespread.

[Bixley]

But the Zimbabwe multi gazillion billion notes are now being collected and are worth more now than they were ever worth as currency.

[SidS]

1 hour ago, Bixley said:

But the Zimbabwe multi gazillion billion notes are now being collected and are worth more now than they were ever worth as currency.

Which is the point I was making.

I suppose currencies are like cars. Desirable when new, lose value over time, everyone wants rid when they get to withdrawal time, then after a few years out of common sight, they start appreciating again as 'classics'.