The Rhodesian dollar (''R$ or Rh$'', ) was the

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100

cent Cent may refer to: Currency * Cent (currency), a one-hundredth subdivision of several units of currency * Penny (Canadian coin), a Canadian coin removed from circulation in 2013 * 1 cent (Dutch coin), a Dutch coin minted between 1941 and 1944 * ...

History

The dollar was introduced on 17 February 1970, less than a month before the declaration of a

republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

on 2 March 1970. It replaced the

Rhodesian pound The pound was the currency of Southern Rhodesia from 1964 to 1965 and Rhodesia from 1965 until 1970. It was subdivided into 20 ''shillings'', each of 12 ''pence''. History The Rhodesian pound was introduced following the break-up of the Federati ...

at a rate of 2 dollars to 1 pound. The dollar proved to be a strong currency, at parity with the

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

right up to the very end of Rhodesia in 1980, when it was replaced by the

Zimbabwean dollar The Zimbabwean dollar (sign: $, or Z$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies) was the name of four official currencies of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 12 April 2009. During this time, it was subject to periods of extreme inflat ...

at par Par value, in finance and accounting, means stated value or face value. From this come the expressions at par (at the par value), over par (over par value) and under par (under par value). Bonds A bond selling at par is priced at 100% of face val ...

. However, the Rhodesian dollar was never a fully

convertible currency Convertibility is the quality that allows money or other financial instruments to be converted into other liquid stores of value. Convertibility is an important factor in international trade, where instruments valued in different currencies mus ...

and its exchange rate was therefore not an indication of the underlying economics.

Half pound

In adopting the Rhodesian dollar, Rhodesia followed the pattern of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

in that when it adopted the decimal system, it decided to use the half pound unit as opposed to the pound unit of account. The choice of the name dollar was favoured by the then

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

John Wrathall John James Wrathall, GCLM, ID (28 August 1913 – 31 August 1978), was a Rhodesian politician. He was the last white President of Rhodesia (later holders of the post were only acting as such). He formerly worked as a chartered accountant. E ...

, who regarded it as having international substance.

Coins

On 17 February 1970 the Rhodesian dollar was introduced and was par to the Pound; the currency was manufactured as follows - bronze and 1 cent and cupro-nickel cent coins were introduced, which circulated alongside the earlier coins of the

for 5, 10, 20 and 25 cents, which were also denominated in shillings and pence. New 5-cent coins were introduced in 1973, followed by 10, 20 and 25 cents in 1975. Coins were struck until 1977 at the

South African Mint The South African Mint is responsible for minting all coins of the South African rand on behalf of its owner the South African Reserve Bank. Located in Centurion, Gauteng near South Africa's administrative capital Pretoria, the mint manufactures ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

. Rhodesia had both Cent and Cents coins, just like in South Africa. * The Cent coin was struck between 1970 and 1977 - with the 1977 1/2 Cent being extremely rare, with 10 coins known. * The Cents ( Tickey) was struck in 1970 only. * The 5 Cents was struck in 1973 and between 1975 and 1977. * The 10 and 25 Cents was struck in 1975 only. * The 20 Cents was struck in 1975 and 1977.

Tommy Sasseen Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

was the designer of all Rhodesian coins from 1964 to 1968 (reverse only) and 1970 to 1977 (both obverse and reverse).

Banknotes

On 17 February 1970, the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2 and 10 dollars. 5-dollar notes were added in 1972.

Exchange rate history

This table shows the historical value of one Rhodesian dollar.

References

* *

External links

Rhodesian Currency Page
with a short description of each note. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodesian Dollar Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of Africa Currencies introduced in 1970

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Rhodesia 1970 establishments in Rhodesia 1980 disestablishments in Zimbabwe