A single tulip bulb once sold for more than ten times a skilled worker's annual wage

In the Dutch Republic of the 1630s, prices for rare tulip bulbs rose to extraordinary levels, with contracts for single bulbs reportedly changing hands for sums that could buy a house. In February 1637 the market collapsed within days, and tulip mania became one of history's most cited early examples of a speculative financial bubble.

— Historical and economic record, Tulip Mania — Dutch Republic, 1634-1637