Over the next decades, the rand’s value relative to other currencies declined substantially due to inflation and, more importantly, due to increasing international opposition to South Africa’s policy of apartheid – its institutionalized system of racial segregation. The South African Reserve Bank mints and issues coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, and in denominations of 1, 2, and 5 rands. Banknotes are printed and issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rands.
- Several countries use the U.S. dollar as their official currency, and many others allow it to be used in a de facto capacity.
- Coins were introduced in 1961 in denominations of 1⁄2, 1, 2+1⁄2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents.
- Like many dollar-denominated currencies, the rand is divided into 100 cents.
- Banknotes are printed and issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rands.
- On 3 May 2023, the South African Reserve Bank announced that there will be a new series of bank notes which will retain the image of Nelson Mandela on the obverse, while showing the Big 5 in a family depiction on the reverse.[33] This series contains the same denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rand.
In late 2007, the rand rallied modestly to just over 8%, only to experience a precipitous slide during the first quarter of 2008. As it became clear in the early 1990s that the country was destined for Black majority rule and one reform after the other was announced, uncertainty about the future of the country hastened the depreciation until the level of R3 to the dollar was breached in November 1992. The controversial land reform programme that was initiated in Zimbabwe, followed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, propelled it to its weakest historical level of R13.84 to the dollar in December 2001. By the time that State President P. W. Botha made his Rubicon speech on 15 August 1985, it had weakened to R2.40 per dollar. The currency recovered somewhat between 1986 and 1988, trading near the R2 level most of the time and even breaking beneath it sporadically. The recovery was short-lived, however, and by the end of 1989, the rand was trading at more than R2.50 per dollar.
What is South African Rand (ZAR)?
Take your learning and productivity to the next level with our Premium Templates. The word “rand” is derived from “Witwatersrand,” the name of the high escarpment in South Africa, where the country’s capital city, Johannesburg, is located. Access and download collection of free Templates to help power your productivity and performance.
The 1 rand coin for circulation was introduced in 1967, followed by 2 rand coins in 1989 and 5 rand coins in 1994. Production of the 1 and 2 cent coins was discontinued in 2002, followed by 5 cent coins in 2012, primarily due to inflation having devalued them, but they remain legal tender.[28][29][30][31] Shops normally round the total purchase price of goods to the nearest 10 cents. Like many dollar-denominated currencies, the rand is divided into 100 cents. All South African coins and banknotes are produced and issued by the country’s central bank, the South African Reserve Bank. As a trading center, multiple currencies circulated throughout South Africa. During the late 17th century, the Rixdollar was used and was the first South African currency to include paper notes.
By the early 1980s, high inflation and mounting political pressure combined with sanctions placed against the country due to international opposition to the apartheid system had started to erode its value. The currency broke above parity with the dollar for the first time in March 1982, and continued to trade between R1 and R1.30 to the dollar until June 1984, when depreciation of the currency gained momentum. By February 1985, it was trading at over R2 per dollar, and in July that year, all foreign exchange trading was suspended for three days to try to stop the depreciation. Coins were introduced in 1961 in denominations of 1⁄2, 1, 2+1⁄2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents.
South African rand
The 1978 series began with denominations of 2, 5, 10 and 20 rand, with a 50 rand introduced in 1984. This series had only one language variant for each denomination of note. Afrikaans was the first language on the 2, 10, and 50 rand, while English was the first language on the 5 and 20 rand. In 2012, the country began issuing its banknotes featuring an image of former South African President and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. In 2018, the country also issued commemorative banknotes of all its denominations, imprinted with new images of Mandela. The all-time low exchange rate for the rand relative to the US dollar was reached in 2016 when it hit an exchange rate of just below 18 ZAR/1 USD.
In 2017, credit rating agency Moody’s rated the country of South Africa barely above junk status. By 1985, the rand was trading at an exchange rate of 2 rands to 1 US dollar, and South Africa even briefly suspended all foreign exchange trading in the rand in an attempt to stem the slide in the currency’s value. The South African currency’s decline in value was further exacerbated by the country’s significant trade account deficit worldwide and by a slowdown in the economy of China, one of South Africa’s key trading partners. From 2001 to 2006, the rand recovered about half of its value relative to the US dollar, moving back to an exchange rate of approximately six-to-one (rand to dollar).
ZAR – South African Rand
But then, in 2012, a decline in the key South African industry of mining sparked a fresh decline for the rand. The South African rand was first produced in 1961, when South Africa became a republic. It replaced the South African pound, which used to be the legal currency of the Union of South Africa since it was established as a British Dominion in 1910. On 11 February 2012, President Jacob Zuma announced that the country would be issuing a new set of banknotes bearing Nelson Mandela’s image.[40][41] They were entered into circulation on 6 November 2012.[42] These contained the same denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rand. The 2005 series has the same principal design, but with additional security features such as colour-shifting ink on the 50 rand and higher and the EURion constellation. The obverses of all denominations were printed in English, while two other official languages were printed on the reverse, thus making use of all 11 official languages of South Africa.
The currency softened somewhat in 2005, and was trading around R6.35 to the dollar at the end of the year. At the start of 2006, however, the currency resumed its rally, and as of 19 January 2006, was trading under R6 to the dollar again. However, during the second and third quarters of 2006 (i.e. April through September), the rand weakened significantly. Our currency rankings show that the most popular South African Rand exchange rate is the ZAR to USD rate. Gain unlimited access to more than 250 productivity Templates, CFI’s full course catalog and accredited Certification Programs, hundreds of resources, expert reviews and support, the chance to work with real-world finance and research tools, and more.
The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions. Several countries use the U.S. dollar as their official currency, and many others allow it to be used in a de facto capacity. South African Rand refers to the legal currency of the Republic of South Africa. It is also recognized as a legal currency in the Common Monetary Area that it shares with Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini, although each country in the monetary union also uses its own currency. In sterling terms, it fell from around 9.5% to just over 7%, losing some 25% of its international trade-weighted value in just six months.
During British occupation, in 1826, the Cape Colony was put on a sterling basis, though other currencies, including Spanish Dollars, US Dollars, French Francs, and Indian Rupees continued to circulate. In 1921, the Reserve Bank of South Africa was established as the central bank. In 1961, the South African Rand replaced the Pound under a decimalized system. The rand saw a fairly auspicious beginning, trading at an exchange rate of 1.40 US dollars to 1 rand for its first ten years in existence.
Second series
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The South African rand (ZAR) is the currency of South Africa and is issued by the South African Reserve Bank. The name is derived from the word ‘Witwatersrand’, which means ‘ridge of white waters’. The ridge is where most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found and where Johannesburg was built. The rand was introduced in 1961 and takes its name from the Witwatersrand, the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found. On 3 May 2023, the South African Reserve Bank announced that there will be a new series of bank notes which will retain the image of Nelson Mandela on the obverse, while showing the Big 5 in a family depiction on the reverse.[33] This series contains the same denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rand.
The rand was also legal tender in Botswana until 1976, when the pula replaced the rand at par. High rates of poverty, crime, political unrest, and unemployment continue to plague the country and the value of its currency. By 1992, the exchange rate was 3 rand per 1 US dollar, doubling to more than 6 ZAR/1 USD by 1999 and surging to nearly 14 ZAR/1 USD by 2001. Increasing political uncertainty as South https://www.tradebot.online/ Africa moved to dismantle its apartheid system and transition to what would become black majority rule led to a further decline in the rand’s relative value. This sudden depreciation in 2001 led to a formal investigation, which in turn led to a dramatic recovery. By the end of 2002, the currency was trading under R9 to the dollar again, and by the end of 2004 was trading under R5.70 to the dollar.