June 16, 2016

Once upon a time in Holland, tulips were used as currency. During the 1620’s, tulips reached such a state of popularity in Holland that they actually created one of the world’s first economic bubbles. During what is known as the Dutch Golden Age, a single Viceroy tulip bulb had a value equivalent to $1,250 in current American dollars. According to the 1841 book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by British journalist Charles Mackay, a single tulip bulb was once given in exchange for 12 acres of land. “Tulip mania”, as it became known, didn’t last and at some point in the mid 1630’s, people questioned the value in paying a fortune for a flower that would inevitably die and subsequently, the market crashed.