Imagine you decided to go for an adventure and discover South Africa's main attractions. Maybe you thought that Europe and the US were too classy for you, but those picturesque nature places in South Africa would definitely make you feel that thrill. Whatever you decide - to check out the main tourist attraction, take a boat tour or go camping under a picturesque, safari night sky, we suggest you spare some time to get to know the five fun facts about South Africa's national currency - South African rand or ZAR.
1. Established in 1961
The rand was established as the official South African currency on 14 February 1961. It replaced the South African pound, which had been the legal currency of the Union of South Africa since it was established as a British Dominion in 1910.
2. Coins and Banknotes
When traveling around South Africa, it'll be useful for you to know that the country has banknotes containing six denominations - 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 ZAR.
One South African rand is divided into 100 cents. The rand is also presented in the form of coins. They have coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1, 2, and 5 rands in circulation. However, they don't exchange these coins.
3. The new "ZAR"
The ISO code of the South African rand is the ZAR. In the old days when the Cape Colony (which since expanded to the borders of the current South-Africa) was under Dutch rule, it was called de Zuid Afrikaansche Republic (ZAR). So today, one could say ZAR stands for Zuid-Afrikaanse-Rand.
4. The Randelas
In 2012, the South African Reserve Bank issued a series of banknotes featuring the face of Nelson Mandela to honor his role and dedication to creating peace throughout the country. They were the first South African notes to bear the image of a black person - they replace notes with wild animals and rural and industrial scenes. President Jacob Zuma said the banknotes were a "humble gesture" to express South Africa's "deep gratitude". These banknotes are referred to as "Randelas."
5. South Africa's most Counterfeited
Finally, if you’re thinking of using the 200 rand note, maybe consider another denomination of this currency. The 200 rand notes just so happen to be the most counterfeited note in the country. So, in 2010, the South African Reserve Bank and commercial banks even withdrew all 1994 series 200-rand banknotes due to relatively high-quality counterfeit notes in circulation. And nowadays, some establishments won’t accept them as payment.
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