The coins of the Rhodesian dollar were part of the physical form of

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 S ...

's historical currency, the

Rhodesian dollar The Rhodesian dollar (''R$ or Rh$'', ) was the currency of Rhodesia between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents. History The dollar was introduced on 17 February 1970, less than a month before the declaration of a republic on 2 Mar ...

. All Rhodesian decimal coins were designed by

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 ...

and struck 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 (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

Decimal coinage

(click for obverse image) (click for reverse image)
In late June 1969, Rhodesian voters agreed to adopt a new constitution which would establish a republic (

1969 Rhodesian constitutional referendum A double referendum was held in Rhodesia on 20 June 1969, in which voters were asked whether they were in favour of or against a) the adoption of a republican form of government, and b) the proposals for a new Constitution, as set out in a whit ...

). On 17 February 1970, Rhodesia changed over to

decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

. The

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

halfpenny and penny were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the cent coin, 1 cent coi
(click for image)
(their values were not exactly equal) and a cent (3d) ''tickey''. The new coins depicted the Rhodesian coat of arms on the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

instead of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

's portrait, reflecting the de facto constitutional change. The 1964 coinage issue remained in circulation. The sixpence (6d) became 5 cents, the shilling (1/-) became 10 cents, the florin (2/-) became 20 cents, and the half-crown (2/6) became 25 cents. ZWE012

In 1973, a new

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...

five cent coin was issued. This coin had the Rhodesian coat of arms alone on the obverse, to which the legend ''RHODESIA'' was added for the 1975–77 strikings. In 1975 a new ten cent and 25 cent piece appeared; it was struck in this year only. A new 20 cent coin was struck in 1975 and again in 1977. The last Rhodesian coins were struck in 1977. The 1977 cent coin is extremely rare with 10 pieces known. Following independence under majority rule in 1980 as

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, the

was withdrawn in late 1980 and 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.

Decimal coinage

See also