Case file · Folklore / legend
Ne Win's lucky-nine banknotes
In September 1987 Burma's ruler Ne Win, reportedly on an astrologer's advice favouring the number nine, cancelled most banknotes and issued 45- and 90-kyat notes, wiping out most people's savings.
1987 CE · 16.80, 96.15 · status: official
The account
The demonetisation helped spark the 1988 '8888' uprising. Astrology and numerology long shaped Burmese state decisions.