For almost half of my life, I paid with money that said, “The bills are backed by gold and other assets of the Czechoslovak National Bank.” This gave the money a sign of reliability and security. Knowing that this was not just a piece of paper, but that it actually had a recognized value behind it, gave us peace of mind. That is, if we could get everything we wanted to get with such money, and if we could freely exchange it for other currencies, for example, for money of similar value that we could not confirm, but which we could still look up to with far greater admiration, at least informally and secretly, for example We would have been better off.
The Czechoslovak koruna was the only legal tender at the time. And because there was nothing else to do, people used it and trusted it. More desirable currencies were not easily available, you could not pay in anything but tzedex, and the currencies of the so-called friendly Eastern Bloc countries were of no interest. And how our propaganda boasted of the official quality of our currency! Even the currency reform of the 1930s, which until the last moment claimed that our currency was strong and risk-free, only became worthless in an instant. Even the slowly rising prices showed that it was a lie that, unlike Western countries, there was no inflation in our country. The jokers added that there is no inflation in our country, only that everything is still overpriced.
However, we were a country quite isolated from the rest of the world and could tinker with anything. The same was true of Koruna in Czechoslovakia. The koruna had lost value, but the regime made it as painless as possible. Anything desirable was sold at a high price in order to subsidize what had to be cheap to keep people\’s mouths shut.But the truth is the truth and reality will not hide forever. Thus, even the biggest supporters of the Czechoslovak koruna had to admit that the disguise from the national bank was far from perfect. At least, if one were to exchange this currency for the US dollar. The U.S. dollar, according to its inscription, was much more desirable, even though it was not covered by any national bank. With this dollar, one only had to believe and trust in God.