Monetary History is being made today in South Africa. The new South African banknotes are going into circulation today. The notes were unveiled to the public in September 2012.
Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus was the first South African to use the new South African banknotes in a transaction. She bought fruit and vegetables at her green grocer in Pretoria today with the new banknotes. The new notes are expected to become the dominant currency in South Africa over the next few months.
According to a speech Marcus made in December last year, banknotes to the value of R100 billion are circulating within the South African economy. They are definitely an integral part of South African society.
In case you did not know, the new South African banknotes all feature an image of former South African president Nelson Mandela on the front and images of the “big five” animals on the back of the notes.
The security features lie in the look and feel of the notes. The raised print is different than the old notes and if you tilt the notes the bar and the colour changes. This an easy way to check if you have a genuine version of the new banknote. The new South African banknotes are of equal value and will co-circulate with the old notes. Governor Marcus has said that former president Mandela is very excited about being on the new South African banknotes.
The new South African banknotes will be available at banks and automated teller machines later today. The new notes can also be used in Common Monetary Areas (CMA) like Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe and they can also be used globally through foreign exchange.
What do you think of the new South African banknotes? Feel free to comment on this post and let the readers of the Junk Mail blog, we’d like to hear from you!
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