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

currency A currency 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 definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents.

History

The dollar was introduced on 17 February 1970, roughly two weeks before the declaration of a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

on 2 March 1970. It replaced the Rhodesian pound at a rate of 2 dollars to 1 pound. The dollar proved to be a strong currency, at parity with the

pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

right up to the very end of Rhodesia in 1980, when it was replaced by the Zimbabwean dollar at par. 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 mu ...

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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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, and

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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, John Wrathall, 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 Rhodesian pound 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 Mint (facility), 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 ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. Rhodesia had both Cent and Cents coins, just like in South Africa. * The Cent coin was struck between 1970 and 1977 - with the 1977 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 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. On 2 January 1979, the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia replaced the watermark of Cecil Rhodes with that of the Zimbabwe Bird, following the Internal Settlement, which saw the country renamed

Zimbabwe Rhodesia Zimbabwe Rhodesia (), alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, was a short-lived unrecognised sovereign state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, though it lacked international recog ...

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 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

1970 establishments in Rhodesia 1980 disestablishments in Zimbabwe Dollar