| Paper Money Of The Zimbabwean Dollar |
Article Index for Paper Money |
Website Links For Paper Money |
Information AboutPaper Money Of The Zimbabwean Dollar |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT PAPER MONEY OF THE ZIMBABWEAN DOLLAR | |
| currencies of africa | |
| economy of zimbabwe | |
|
CURRENT SITUATION The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe claimed that inflation was 1,204.6% (as of August 2006). In reality, some economists are saying that it could reach 2000% this year. The official exchange rate (ZWD 250 per USD) is doing little to help the rapid currency devaluation. The parallel rate is about revalued ZWD 20,000 per USD ( 8 April 2007 ). On 1 February 2006 bearer cheques with a denomination of ZWD 50,000 were issued (then worth about 50c US - official rate, 30c US - parallel rate)(expiry date was 31 December 2006 ). It is printed in purple and features an image of Victoria Falls on the reverse side. On 01 Jun 2006 the RBZ issued a ZWD 100,000 bearer cheque (then worth about $1 US - official rate, 33c US - parallel rate) (expiry date was 31 Dec 2006). It is printed in green and features an image of Victoria Falls on the reverse side. In mid June 2006 the RBZ announced that a ZWD 1 million bearer cheque was planned for issue in Sept 2006. It was never issued. In mid July 2006 the RBZ announced that validity of all RBZ bearer cheques had been extended to 31 December 2006 . This later changed and they were all demonetized as of 21 August 2006 . On 2007 ). People only had three weeks to change their old money before it was demonetized on 21 August 2006 . OLD DOLLAR Banknotes (1980-94) Design 1 These issues come in the following denominations: ZWD 2, ZWD 5, ZWD 10, and ZWD 20. The 1980 issue gives the capital's name as Salisbury, whereas, the issues from 1982 onwards gives the name of the capital as Harare . However, some notes were printed in 1982 with the name 'Salisbury'. These are very difficult to find, and Commonwealth Of Nations banknote collectors are always interested in these notes. (1994-2003) Design 2 After 1990 , the Zimbabwean economy began its decline, so a new issue was put into circulation. The denominations in these issues are: ZWD 5, ZWD 10, ZWD 20, ZWD 50, ZWD 100, ZWD 500, and ZWD 1000. Zimbabwe Banknotes have been issued in denominations of:
The $500 note was introduced in 2001, however, it comes in two colours, even though they were issued in 2001. One of the notes has a fluorescent security strip up the left hand side of the note. The $1,000 note was introduced during 2003. At the time the dollar was revalued, the $500 note remained the smallest banknote in circulation, as the lower values were driven out of circulation by the rampant inflation. The government, however, issued Bearer Cheque s in larger Denominations to offset the money shortage. New banknotes printed but not released (2006) In the autumn of 2006, the RBZ received supplies of newly printed banknotes from Germany. Denominations ranged from ZWD 1 to ZWD 1,000. (ZWD 1, 5, 10, 20, 100, 500, 1000) The $1 bill has an image of the Victoria Falls and a buffalo, the $5 the Kariba dam wall and an elephant, the $10 agricultural activity and a grain silo, the $20 portrait of a mine site and a mine with a jack hammer, $100 the botanic gardens and the Great Zimbabwe conical tower, the $500 a portrait of a dairy farm. There are no indications of what will be on the $1,000. [http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/feb2b_2007.html#Z3] However they were not released due to continuing high inflation. [http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/feb9a_2007.html#Z9] Bearer cheques and traveler's cheques Cargill Cotton bearer cheques 2003 In May 2003, a private company, the Cargill Cotton Group, issued bearer cheques from its 85 Robert Mugabe Road branch for ZWD 5,000 and ZWD 10,000. These were valid for a period of six months. By the end of 2003, 85% of them had been redeemed. (These are regarded as authorised issues by the RBZ.) These are very difficult to find. RBZ traveller's cheques 2003 Zimbabwe's Central Bank , the Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe (RBZ), followed a few months later with a series of Traveler's Cheque s in the following denominations: ZWD 1,000; ZWD 5,000; ZWD 10,000; ZWD 20,000; ZWD 50,000 and ZWD 100,000. These proved unpopular with the general public due to the need to produce ID both during issue and encashment of these, and also because of the obvious limited usage, since they can only be used once by the bearer. The commercial banks levied a commission on all traveller's cheques, including the ones issued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. These are quite difficult to find. Example of RBZ Traveller's Cheque Design: RBZ bearer cheques 2003-5 (ZWD 5,000; ZWD 10,000 and ZWD 20,000) Beginning in September 2003, the RBZ issued bearer cheques in the values of ZWD 5,000; ZWD 10,000 and ZWD 20,000 on old ZWD 50 banknote stock. These bearer cheques were supposed to have a limited period of validity and have an expiry date. This rule was not applied, however, and all bearer cheques remained valid until August 21 , 2006 when the "old" Zimbabwean dollar was demonetized, following redenomination on August 1 , 2006. These were very difficult to find, as very few people are visiting Zimbabwe. However, recently, examples have been showing up on eBay. Cargill Cotton bearer cheques 2004 In April 2004, the Cargill Cotton Group issued bearer cheques again. The address of the issuing office is now given as 85 R. Mugabe Rd., Harare. These were denominated ZWD 10,000, ZWD 20,000, ZWD 50,000 and ZWD 100,000. RBZ bearer cheques 2006 (ZWD 50,000; ZWD 100,000 and ZWD 1 million) On 2006 . However, they were demonetized on 21 August 2006 . ZWD50,000 and ZWD100,000 bearer cheques dated 1 October 2005 have subsequently been located. It is assumed that they were issued at the same time as the later issues dated 1 February 2006 and 1 June 2006 respectively. Summary of RBZ bearer cheques Examples of RBZ bearer cheque designs: Other bearer cheques Other companies issued bearer cheques in rural districts of Zimbabwe. (These are not regarded as authorised issues by the RBZ.) REVALUED DOLLAR Under Gideon Gono's Operation Sunrise, the Zimbabwe dollar was revalued at 1 (revalued) Zim dollar = 1000 old Zim dollars on 1 August 2006 . Only bearer cheques were issued. RBZ bearer cheques - August 2006 The reserve bank of Zimbabwe issued 13 new bearer cheques which were released on 1 August 2006 and became the sole currency of the country on 21 August 2006 . People only had 3 weeks to change their old money. The change over process was both rapid and disorganized. There were many claims of illegal government actions, and an equal number of claims of cash hoarding and parallel market activity. The smallest note is the 1 cent (or $0.00005 US at the official rate). The other notes are the $.05, $.10, $.50, $1, $10, $20, $50, $100 (old largest bill), $500 (about $2 US at the official rate), $1,000, $10,000, and $100,000. All of the notes are of very similar design. New denominations of RBZ bearer cheques - 2007 On 2007 , but they were only issued on 1 March 2007 . The $50,000 bearer cheques were dated and issued 1 March 2007 . On July 28, it was announced that this series of bearer cheques has had its expiry date extended by one year. {Link without Title} On 2007 new $200,000 bearer cheques were announced for release on 1 August 2007 . Examples of RBZ bearer cheque designs: New RBZ bearer cheques soon - June 2007 The reserve bank of Zimbabwe has announced that new bearer cheques are to be released soon. {Link without Title} People will, supposedly, only have 24 hours to exchange their old money. The smallest denomination note will be $1 ZWD up to the largest denomination of $1,000 ZWD. Presumably, there will be a concommitant revaluation of 1,000:1, in which case the new Z$1,000 bearer cheque would be equivalent to present Z$1,000,000, or about US$2.50 at parallel market rates. SEE ALSO REFERENCES
|
|
|