South Africa is celebrating 100 years of issuing its first banknotes as currency in the country, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced.
The SARB said on Tuesday the banknotes were issued 10 months after the institution was established on 30 June 1921.
“Prior to this, South Africa had no monetary authority. However, the country’s commercial banks were responsible for issuing banknotes into circulation,” the apex bank said.
It added: “But from 19 April 1922, the SARB was granted the sole authority to produce, issue and destroy South African currency.”
The central bank said it had invested significantly in the currency’s design and security features to protect the public from counterfeiting over the years, noting that the banknotes were highly regarded globally.
The rand’s security features, embedded in the country’s currency, represented the most innovative advancements in global design and technology, according to the bank.
“For South Africa, its currency is a symbol of national pride and reflects the country’s cultural heritage, economic industries and the big five animals,” the bank said, adding that in 1961 the rand currency replaced the pound as the symbol of transaction.
The rand takes its name from the Witwatersrand (white waters’ ridge), the ridge where most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found in Johannesburg.
NM/jn/APA