A quiz question · hard
What was the peak 1637 price of a Semper Augustus tulip bulb in Dutch guilders?
A single Semper Augustus bulb sold for about 10,000 guilders in autumn 1636 — about eight years' craftsman wages, or a fully furnished Amsterdam canal house. The market collapsed in early February 1637.
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The Dutch Speculative Bubble of 1636-1637 in Which Tulip Bulb Prices Reached the Equivalent of a Wealthy Amsterdam House and Then Collapsed Within Weeks The Dutch tulip futures market peaked in February 1637 with the rarest bulb varieties trading at prices equivalent to fully furnished Amsterdam canal houses. The collapse on 3-7 February 1637 produced the first documented modern speculative bubble. The actual economic damage was substantially smaller than the conventional legend describes; most contracts were never enforced.
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