South African rand

edge
Country:	South Africa South Africa As a foreign currency : Lesotho Swaziland Namibia Lesotho Swaziland Namibia
Subdivision:	100 cents
ISO 4217 code :	ZAR
Abbreviation:	R.
Exchange rate : (August 24, 2020)	1 EUR = 20.061 ZAR 100 ZAR = 4.9848 EUR 1 CHF = 18.642 ZAR 100 ZAR = 5.3642 CHF

Exchange rate of the euro to the rand since 1999

South African Rand banknotes and coins (2005–2012)

The rand is the currency of the Republic of South Africa . The edge is divided into 100 cents . The abbreviation for rand is R , that for cent is c . The ISO code is ZAR . Until 1993, the rand was also the currency in Namibia and previously in South West Africa . The then introduced Namibian dollar is so far to the edge in the ratio 1: 1 coupled .

There are banknotes of 200, 100, 50, 20 and 10 rand and coins of 5, 2 and 1 rand as well as 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cent in circulation . The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are no longer manufactured.

Surname

The plural of rand is also rand. The name of the currency is derived from the abbreviation for the gold-rich Witwatersrand region .

currency

The rand replaced the South African pound as official currency in 1961. South Africa concluded a monetary union with the neighboring states of Lesotho and Swaziland , according to which the rand is also accepted as legal tender in the neighboring kingdoms; the currency units Lilangeni in Swaziland and Loti in Lesotho have the same value as the South African rand.

On June 5, 1973, the exchange rate was at its highest when one rand was worth $ 1.49992 . Until March 1982, the rand was worth more than the US dollar. A low point was reached on December 21, 2001 with an exchange rate of US $ 1 to Rand 13.84. For the South African Rand was from 1961 to 1983 from 1985 to 1995 as a financial rand designated two-tier exchange rate system , through the investments supported in the country and the outflow of capital should be inhibited from the country. The exchange rate difference was at times more than 60 percent.

The Krugerrand gold coins minted since 1967 are nominally also used as currency in South Africa, although in reality they only serve as investment coins . In 1993 Namibia introduced its own currency, the Namibian dollar , but since then has allowed the rand as legal tender with a parity of 1: 1.

Banknotes and coins

5 rand banknote issued 1990 to 1994

The first banknotes were introduced in 1961 in denominations of 1, 2, 10 and 20 rand. To make the transition easier, they had a similar design to the pound previous notes. They carried a picture of Jan van Riebeeck , the first administrator of the East India Company in Cape Town . As with the last pound notes, the new marginal notes came in two versions, one with an English front text and one with an Afrikaans-language front. This practice continued until 1966.

The 1 and 2-edge pieces minted between 1961 and 1983 are made of 916/1000 gold and correspond in size and fineness to the English half pound and pound sovereigns .

The new 1978 banknote series started with 2-, 5- and 10-rand notes and was expanded to include the 20- and 50-rand notes in 1984. There was a major design change here, but still with Jan van Riebeeck. In addition, there was only one language variant, but the two official languages English and Afrikaans alternately. Afrikaans was the language of the 2-, 10- and 50-rand notes, and English was the language of the 5 and 20-rand notes.

In the "new South Africa" in 1993, the notes were revised and printed with motifs of the " Big Five ", five African wild animals. The 10-rand note shows a rhinoceros, the 20-rand note an elephant, the 50-rand note a male lion, the 100-rand note an African buffalo (also Cape or Cape buffalo) and the 200-rand note -Note a leopard. The name of the South African Central Bank is printed on the back of the banknotes in one of the many national languages.

The 2- and 5-rand notes were withdrawn from circulation and replaced by coins . In addition, 100 and 200 rand notes were introduced in 1994. 1 and 2 cent coins have not been minted since 2002; therefore, the final amounts are usually rounded down in retail (also when paying by card).

The 5-rand coin is in circulation in three versions: the old, single-color version, analogous to the 1-and 2-edge coins with the old coat of arms on the reverse, and the new two-colored version, similar to the 2 euro coins with the new coat of arms on the back side. Most machines only accept the newer version. On July 8, 2008, on the occasion of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, another version of the 5-rand coin was released. This coin, which is also two-colored, bears the head of Nelson Mandela on the obverse.

In 2005 there was another series change with additional security features, but the image remained unchanged. Since then, the front pages have only been printed in English, while two other languages are printed on the back, depending on the value, so that all eleven official languages appear on the notes. Since 2005 there have been banknotes in five and coins in seven different denominations.

On November 6, 2012, the first banknotes of a new series were put into circulation. While one of the wild animals rhinoceros, elephant, lion, buffalo and leopard is depicted on the back as before, a portrait of Nelson Mandela adorns the front of the five notes, the animals are now depicted on the back. The South African Reserve Bank had prepared the population for the introduction of the new banknotes with a large-scale media campaign and placed particular emphasis on the fact that citizens familiarized themselves with the improved security features.

The text on the front of all banknotes reads “ South African Reserve Bank ” (South African Central Bank). The versions in Afrikaans and Siswati (10 Rand), Setswana and isiNdebele (20 Rand), isiXhosa and Tshivenda (50 Rand), Sepedi and Xitsonga (100 Rand) and isiZulu and Sesotho (200 Rand) can be found on the back of the notes .