In the 1630s, a craze developed in Holland for this flower, with many investors paying huge sums for individual bulbs
At the peak of tulip mania, in March 
1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for ... Mackay claims that many such investors 
were ruined by the fall in prices, and... [DOC] [TLE] The Dutch Tulip Bubble of 1637  Damn Interesting [PAR] Oct 29, 2006 ... Over the next several decades tulips became a fad among the rich of ... A single 
Viceroy tulip bulb would sell for 2500 florins a value ... to laugh at the foolish 
Dutch, paying such prices for simple tulip bulbs, .... What a stupid craze that was.