Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Rhodesian dollar

 
Wikipedia: Rhodesian dollar
Rhodesian dollar
1 dollar note
1 dollar note
User(s)  Rhodesia
Subunit
1/100 cent
Symbol $
Coins ½, 1, 2½, 5, 10, 20, 25 cents
Banknotes 1, 2, 5, 10 dollars
Central bank Reserve Bank of Rhodesia

The dollar (R$) was the currency of Rhodesia between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents.

Contents

History

The dollar was introduced on February 17, 1970, less than a month before the declaration of the Republic of Rhodesia on March 2, 1970. It replaced the pound at a rate of 2 dollars to 1 pound. The dollar proved to be a strong currency, at parity with the Pound sterling right up to the very end of Rhodesia in 1980, when it was replaced by the Zimbabwean dollar at par. However, it should be noted that the Rhodesian dollar was never a fully convertible currency and that its exchange rate was therefore no recognition of underlying economics.

Half Pounds

The Rhodesian dollar is not a true dollar in the sense that it is descended directly from the Spanish pieces of eight, as is the case with the US dollar, the Canadian dollar, and the East Caribbean Dollar. The Rhodesian dollar is essentially a half pound sterling. Rhodesia followed the pattern of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand 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 motivated by the fact that the reduced value of the new unit corresponded more closely to the value of the US dollar than it did to the pound sterling. Other examples of dollars that are not true dollars for this same reason are, the Cayman Islands dollar, the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the Solomon Islands dollar, the Fiji dollar, the Namibian dollar, the Jamaican dollar, and the Zimbabwe dollar.

Examples of dollars that are directly related to the original Spanish dollar unit are the US dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Newfoundland dollar, the East Caribbean dollar, the Belize dollar, the Guyanese dollar, the Bermuda dollar, the Bahamian dollar, the Trinidad and Tobago dollar, the Barbados dollar, the Hong Kong dollar, the Straits dollar, the Malayan dollar, the Singapore dollar, and the Brunei dollar.

Coins

On February 17, 1970 the Rhodesian dollar was introducedand was par to the Pound the currency was factured as follows- bronze ½ and 1 cent and cupro-nickel 2½ 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 issued until 1977.

Banknotes

In 1970, the Reserve bank of Rhodesia introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2 and 10 dollars. 5 dollar notes were added in 1972.

Obverse Reverse Denomination
Rhodesia1.jpg Rhodesia1a.jpg 1 dollar
Rhodesia2.jpg Rhodesia2a.jpg 2 dollars
Rhodesia5.jpg Rhodesia5a.jpg 5 dollars
Rhodesia10.jpg Rhodesia10a.jpg 10 dollars

Exchange rate history

This table shows the historical value of one Rhodesian dollar.

Date Official Rate Free / Parallel Rate notes
1970 (Feb) USD 1.40 - Parallel market starts 1970 (July)
1971 (Aug) ZAR 1.00 (- 30%) ZAR 0.769 Pegged to the ZA Rand
1971 (Dec) USD 1.52 (- 30% to 40%) USD 1.09 to USD 1.17 US dollar devalued
1972 (July) floated (- 20% to 30%) Floated at same time GBP was floated
1972 (Oct) USD 1.52; ZAR 1.19 - -
1973 (Feb) USD 1.69 - USD devalued
1973 (Jun) USD 1.773; ZAR 1.19 - ZA Rand and R$ revalued against USD
1975 (Sep) USD 1.60; ZAR 1.34 - R$ devalued against USD and ZAR
1977 (Oct) USD 1.50; ZAR 1.30 - R$ devalued against USD and ZAR
1980 (Mar) - - Pegged to flexible basket (FRF, DEM, ZAR, CHF, GBP, USD)
1980 (Apr) - - Replacement by the Zimbabwean dollar Z$ 1 = R$ 1
1981 - - Rhodesian dollar demonetised under Statutory Instrument 378 of the Government of Zimbabwe

References

External links

Preceded by:
Rhodesian pound
Reason: decimalization
Ratio: 2 dollars = 1 pound
Currency of Zimbabwe
1970 – 1980
Succeeded by:
Zimbabwean dollar
Reason: independence recognized
Ratio: at par

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rhodesian dollar" Read more