Myanmar Currency Chaos
The crisis following the withdrawl of most circulating banknotes in Myanmar in 1987
Witness History: Archive 2014 · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
In September 1987 the authorities in Myanmar suddenly announced that most of the banknotes in circulation in the country were invalid.
The decision, made without warning, had been ordered more or less on a whim by Myanmar's leader General Ne Win. He was a superstitious man and withdrew all 25, 35, and 75 kyat notes because they were not divisible by nine.
Farhana Haider reports on the chaos that ensued.
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)