Banknotes are printed and issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rands. High rates of poverty, crime, political unrest, and unemployment continue to plague the country and the value of its currency. The rand was also legal tender in Botswana until 1976, when the pula replaced the rand at par. For the most part, the rand’s value was linked to the price of gold, South Africa’s main export, during its early days. In recent years, the rand is somewhat correlated with gold prices as the South African economy still relies on its gold exports.
Instead, a series of banknotes containing photos of the country’s treasured wildlife were introduced. Also, in 2012, a rand banknote containing a picture of former President Nelson Mandela was released as part of the Mandela series. 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. 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.
The Troubled History of the South African Rand
Our currency rankings show that the most popular South African Rand exchange rate is the ZAR to USD rate. Below, you’ll find South African https://www.topforexnews.org/ Rand rates and a currency converter. Our currency rankings show that the most popular US Dollar exchange rate is the USD to USD rate.
Create a chart for any currency pair in the world to see their currency history. These currency charts use live mid-market rates, are easy to use, and are very reliable. Increasing political uncertainty as South 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. The word “rand” is derived from https://www.currency-trading.org/ “Witwatersrand,” the name of the high escarpment in South Africa, where the country’s capital city, Johannesburg, is located. 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 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. 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. Like many dollar-denominated currencies, the rand is divided into 100 cents.
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The coins still have legal tender status in South Africa, although Krugerrands were never assigned a rand value. Krugerrands were designed to derive their value exclusively from the price of gold at the time they are traded. Up until the early 1970s, the rand was worth around R1.5 per U.S. dollar (USD).
- However, during the second and third quarters of 2006 (i.e. April through September), the rand weakened significantly.
- In 1961, the South African Rand replaced the Pound under a decimalized system.
- Through the RMA agreement, the South African rand remained legal tender in all member nations and circulated alongside the national money of the member nations.
- 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.
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. The 1978 series began with denominations of 2, 5, 10 and 20 rand, with a 50 https://www.investorynews.com/ 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.
These percentages show how much the exchange rate has fluctuated over the last 30 and 90-day periods. These are the lowest points the exchange rate has been at in the last 30 and 90-day periods. These are the highest points the exchange rate has been at in the last 30 and 90-day periods. 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.
Eighth series
The group also includes NAGA Global (CY) Ltd, with registered address at Nikokreontos 2, NICE DREAM, 6th floor, Flat/Office 601, 1066, Nicosia, Cyprus. 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.
ZAR – South African Rand
In 2017, credit rating agency Moody’s rated the country of South Africa barely above junk status. 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). But then, in 2012, a decline in the key South African industry of mining sparked a fresh decline for the rand. By 2014, it was trading at a rate of slightly more than 15 ZAR/1 USD. 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.
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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. When the rand was introduced in 1961, its value was linked to the price of gold. After the end of apartheid, the rand’s value began to fluctuate more as South Africa’s economy became more closely tied to the global economy.
This is to ensure that the interests of the economy precede those of any private individual. To maintain this policy, the governor and 14-member board head the bank’s activities and work toward monetary goals. Above all else, the central bank is in charge of the achievement and maintenance of price stability.
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. Krugerrands are gold coins that have legal tender status in South Africa but no assigned rand value. Krugerrands derive their value from the gold out of which they are made.
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 South African rand, which is abbreviated ZAR, is the national currency of South Africa. Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia also peg their currencies to the rand. Gold is the country’s most exported good, representing 14% of total exports in 2021 or $20.1 billion. South Africa also exports other commodities, including palladium and iron ore, to predominately China, Europe, and the United States.However, major world developments have also determined ZAR’s price trajectory. The September 11 attacks in 2001 created global uncertainty, and the rand took a steep dive, falling to R13 per U.S. dollar (USD).
The Xe Rate Alerts will let you know when the rate you need is triggered on your selected currency pairs. 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. 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. The currency softened somewhat in 2005, and was trading around R6.35 to the dollar at the end of the year.
