Thursday, 28 June 2007

Rupee Shortage Cuts Deep

Fascinating news reports today, all pulled down from the AFP wire, that there’s a shortage of rupee coins in India because people have worked out that the base metal that the coin is made of has a greater value than the unit of currency itself, so they’re melting rupees down to make razor blades.

Kolkata police have raided a foundry which has been turning the coins into ingots for export. Meanwhile, everyone’s looking around, literally, for any small change they can find.

The stainless steel gained from melting down a single rupee coin can make four razor blades which sell, in Bangladesh, apparently, for four rupees each.

A currency that’s so devalued that its material value is greater than its face value. How crazy is that?

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