5 centuries of bubbles and bursts

History is replete with financial frenzies that seem ridiculous in hindsight, but were viewed as anything but at the time.

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1634-38: Tulips
The earliest well-documented financial bubble was for a bell-shaped flower. Some Dutch families mortgaged their life savings for these bulbs, some of which could cost as much as a home.
By Stephen Gandel

NEXT: 1720: South Sea Co.
Last updated January 06 2010: 5:25 PM ET
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