This video vividly shows what the economic and monetary situation was like in Yugoslavia on the „eve of the war“ in 1990. As part of his economic stabilization measures, the government of Prime Minister Ante Marković „shaved“ four zeros off the dinar and introduced its convertibility. According to the new exchange rate, only 7 dinars were needed for 1 Deutsche Mark, and the favorite Deutsche Marks (as well as other foreign currencies) could easily be obtained in exchange for dinars. Although new dinar banknotes were announced, at the time this footage was recorded they had not yet been put into circulation, and the „old“ dinars with a multitude of zeros were still legal tender. In the report, the journalist significantly states that in the future a „bag of banknotes will no longer be needed to buy a bag of groceries,“ not suspecting that in the coming years things would spiral even further out of control. Scenes from the Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins in Topčider, Belgrade, can be seen in the video.
Source: YouTube channel “Marko Jo” (The video was originally published as a report on a German TV station.)
