 |
| This currency from Nicaragua was discovered in a box, many years after traveling to that country. |
Years ago I visited Nicaragua. I got sick with diarrhea. It happened while driving north of Managua. Desperate, I pulled over and ran across a field to an outhouse. There, I did my business.
Ugh! No toilet paper.
Not that I was surprised. Back then a civil war pitted Sandinistas against Contras. The economy was a shambles. Toiletries were scarce.
What to do?
I reached into my wallet, pulled out some cordobas notes--the currency of Nicaragua--and performed an essential function. Disgusting? Yes. But the alternative was worse.
Next, down the hole went the cash.
Back then, Nicaraguan currency had scant value. I'll venture to guess that I paid less than a dollar to solve an urgent problem, based on conversion rates.
Last month while cleaning out a box, I came across two cordobas notes from that trip. Turns out, cordobas from that period in time are no longer in circulation. Now they're sought by collectors. The two notes I found are worth $85 U.S. dollars.
How could I have envisioned, while sitting on a wooden throne in Nicaragua, that I was tossing into a hole money that could someday fetch several hundred dollars?
No comments:
Post a Comment