Back in 1637, there was a tulip bubble in Europe. In what is now seen as the first ever example of the speculative bubbles which haunt us today, individual bulbs of special varieties changed hands at ridiculous prices.
Accurate records from so long ago are hard to find, but two tons of butter is said to have been given for one bulb, and 12 acres of land offered for another. Fanatics were delighted, then depressed as, inevitably, prices collapsed. The whole phenomenon was recounted in the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
Now it’s happening again, with snowdrops (Galanthus). True, prices are not yet reaching the farcical levels paid for tulips 400 years ago, but extraordinary prices are being paid for individual bulbs of rare varieties: $400 in 2008, $550 in 2011, $1,115 in 2012 and $2,500 in 2014 (at current exchange rates). For one bulb! So what’s going on?
The Guardian: $2,500 for a bulb: is the snowdrop craze the world's next speculative bubble?
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