The pound was the currency of

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

from 1964 to 1965 and

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 ...

from 1965 until 1970. It was subdivided into 20 ''

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s'', each of 12 ''

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

''.

History

The Rhodesian pound was introduced following the break-up of 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 ...

, when

changed its name to simply

. The Rhodesian pound replaced the Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound at par and the coins and banknotes of this earlier currency continued to circulate. Like its predecessor, the Rhodesian pound was initially pegged to sterling. When sterling was devalued from

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2.8 to US$2.4 in 1967, Rhodesia switched its peg to £1 Rhodesian = US$2.8. In 1970, the pound was replaced by the

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, U ...

, at a rate of £1 Rhodesian = $2 Rhodesian, so $1 Rhodesian was US$1.40.

Coins

In 1964, coins were introduced for 6d, 1/–, 2/– and 2/6. These coins also bore a denomination in cents (5^c, 10^c, 20^c and 25^c, respectively), although Rhodesia did not decimalise until 1970. This was possibly for compatibility with the

South African rand The South African rand, or simply the rand, ( sign: R; code: ZAR) is the official currency of the Southern African Common Monetary Area: South Africa, Namibia (alongside the Namibian dollar), Lesotho (alongside the Lesotho loti) and Eswatini ...

, which retained a fixed 2:1 parity with the Rhodesian pound until 1967. In 1968, 3d coins were introduced which did not bear a denomination in cents. All coins had the title 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 ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, rather than in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, as had been the case on the coins of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and Southern Rhodesia.

Banknotes

Beginning in 1964, banknotes were issued in denominations of 10/–, £1 and £5. All notes featured

on the obverse. The reverse designs were reused on the new dollar notes introduced on 17 February 1970. The Rhodesian dollar notes are similar to the earlier Rhodesian pound issues, but marked with the new currency units, the bank logo replaces the coat of arms, and the coat of arms replaces the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Prior to

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

, Rhodesia was a member of the sterling zone. The banknotes were printed and supplied from the UK by the printers

Bradbury Wilkinson Bradbury Wilkinson & Co were an English engraver and printer of banknotes, postage stamps and share certificates. History The original company was established in the 1850s by Henry Bradbury and begun printing banknotes in 1856. Bradbury then die ...

. After UDI, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

government expelled Rhodesia from the sterling zone and the supply of banknotes dried up. This very soon had an adverse effect in Rhodesia, and the shortage of new notes and the condition of those in circulation began to become a pressing concern. In early 1966, the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia ordered a completely new series of Rhodesian banknotes from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

printers

Giesecke & Devrient Giesecke+Devrient, also known as (G+D), is a German company headquartered in Munich that provides banknote and securities printing, smart cards, and cash handling systems. History Founded in 1852 by Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient, the ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. A court injunction prevented the banknotes from being despatched to Rhodesia, and the entire order was destroyed by the printers.SOUTHERN RHODESIA
''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official print ...

'', HC Deb 18 April 1967 vol 745 cc441-90 Substitute consignments were printed in Rhodesia between 1966 and October 1968.

References

External links

Rhodesian Currency
{{Rhodesian topics Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of Africa Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations pound 1964 establishments in Southern Rhodesia 1970 disestablishments in Rhodesia