The Tulip bulb was actually used as a form of currency during the seventeenth century in Holland. As the demand for Tulips skyrocketed, prices escalated as well until they hit their peak in 1636 - 1637. One rare tulip was rumored to have gone for thirty-six bushels of wheat, seventy-two of rice, four oxen, twelve sheep, eight pigs, two barrels of wine and four of beer, two tons of butter, a thousands pounds of cheese, a bed, clothes, and a silver cup.