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In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
 1 dollar note | |
| ISO 4217 | |
|---|---|
| Code | RHD |
| Units of account | |
| Symbol | $ |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄100 | cent |
| Denominations | |
| Banknotes | 1, 2, 5, 10 dollars |
| Coins | 1⁄2, 1, 2+1⁄2, 5, 10, 20, 25 cents |
| Demographics | |
| Date of introduction | 17 February 1970 |
| Replaced | Rhodesian pound |
| Date of withdrawal | 1980 |
| Replaced by | Zimbabwean dollar |
| User(s) | |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Reserve Bank of Rhodesia |
| This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |
The Rhodesian dollar (R$ or Rh$, RHD) was the currency of Rhodesia between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents.
The dollar was introduced on 17 February 1970, roughly two weeks before the declaration of a republic on 2 March 1970. It replaced the Rhodesian pound at a rate of 2 dollars to 1 pound. The dollar proved to be a strong currency, at parity with the pound sterling right up to the very end of Rhodesia in 1980, when it was replaced by the Zimbabwean dollar at par. However, the Rhodesian dollar was never a fully convertible currency and its exchange rate was therefore not an indication of the underlying economics.
In adopting the Rhodesian dollar, Rhodesia followed the pattern of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in that when it adopted the decimal system, it decided to use the half pound unit as opposed to the pound unit of account. The choice of the name dollar was favoured by the then Minister of Finance, John Wrathall, who regarded it as having international substance.[1]
On 17 February 1970 the Rhodesian dollar was introduced and was par to the Pound; the currency was manufactured as follows - bronze 1⁄2 and 1 cent and cupro-nickel 2+1⁄2 cent coins were introduced, which circulated alongside the earlier coins of the Rhodesian pound for 5, 10, 20 and 25 cents, which were also denominated in shillings and pence. New 5-cent coins were introduced in 1973, followed by 10, 20 and 25 cents in 1975. Coins were struck until 1977 at the South African Mint in Pretoria.
Rhodesia had both 1⁄2 Cent and 2+1⁄2 Cents coins, just like in South Africa.
Tommy Sasseen was the designer of all Rhodesian coins from 1964 to 1968 (reverse only) and 1970 to 1977 (both obverse and reverse).
On 17 February 1970, the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2 and 10 dollars.[2] 5-dollar notes were added in 1972.
| Pick No. (of example image) |
Image | Value | Dimensions | Main colour | Description | Date of | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | Watermark | printing | issue | withdrawal | |||||
| 34c |
|
|
$1 | 134 × 75 mm | Blue | Zimbabwe Bird | Tobacco field | Cecil John Rhodes | 1970–1978 | 17 February 1970 | ||
| 31d | 
|
|
$2 | 149 × 83 mm | Red | Flame lily | Victoria Falls | Cecil John Rhodes | 1970–1978 | 17 February 1970 | ||
| 36b | 
|
|
$5 | 152 × 86 mm | Brown | Giraffe | Lions | Cecil John Rhodes | 1972–1978 | 16 October 1972 | ||
| 37a | 
|
|
$10 | 158 × 88 mm | Grey | Sable antelope | Great Zimbabwe | Cecil John Rhodes | 1970–1978 | 17 February 1970 | ||
On 2 January 1979, the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia replaced the watermark of Cecil Rhodes with that of the Zimbabwe Bird, following the Internal Settlement, which saw the country renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia.
| Pick No. |
Image | Value | Dimensions | Main colour | Description | Date of | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | Watermark | printing | issue | withdrawal | |||||
| 38 | 
|
|
$1 | 134 × 75 mm | Blue | Zimbabwe Bird | Tobacco field | Zimbabwe Bird | 1979–1980 | 2 August 1979 | ||
| 39 | 
|
|
$2 | 149 × 83 mm | Red | Flame lily | Victoria Falls | Zimbabwe Bird | 1979–1980 | 24 May 1979 | ||
| 40 | 
|
|
$5 | 152 × 86 mm | Brown | Giraffe | Lions | Zimbabwe Bird | 1979–1980 | 15 May 1979 | ||
| 41 | 
|
|
$10 | 158 × 88 mm | Grey | Sable antelope | Great Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe Bird | 1979–1980 | 2 January 1979 | ||
This table shows the historical value of one Rhodesian dollar.
| Date | Official Rate | Free / Parallel Rate | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 (Feb) | US$1.40 | — | Parallel market starts 1970 (July) |
| 1971 (Aug) | R 1.00 | (−30%) R 0.769 | Pegged to the ZA Rand |
| 1971 (Dec) | US$1.52 | (−30% to 40%) US$1.09 to US$1.17 | US dollar devalued |
| 1972 (July) | floated | (−20% to 30%) | Floated at same time GBP was floated |
| 1972 (Oct) | US$1.52; R 1.19 | — | — |
| 1973 (Feb) | US$1.69 | — | USD devalued |
| 1973 (Jun) | US$1.773; R 1.19 | — | ZA Rand and R$ revalued against USD |
| 1975 (Sep) | US$1.60; R 1.34 | — | R$ devalued against USD and ZAR |
| 1977 (Oct) | US$1.50; R 1.30 | (−69%) US$0.46; R 0.40 | R$ devalued against USD and ZAR |
| 1980 (Mar) | — | — | Pegged to flexible basket (FRF, DEM, ZAR, CHF, GBP, USD) |
| 1980 (Apr) | — | — | Replacement by the Zimbabwean dollar Z$1 = R$1 |
| 1981 | — | — | Rhodesian dollar demonetised under Statutory Instrument 378 of the Government of Zimbabwe |
| Preceded by: Rhodesian pound Reason: decimalization Ratio: 2 dollars = 1 pound |
Currency of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe since 1980) 1970 – 1980 |
Succeeded by: Zimbabwean dollar Reason: independence recognized Ratio: at par |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Rhodesian dollar (R$ or Rh$, RHD) was the currency of Rhodesia between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents.
The historical Rhodesian dollar was subdivided into a number of smaller values that were issued as coins. All Rhodesian decimal coins were designed by Tommy Sasseen and struck at the South African Mint in Pretoria. They replaced the coins of the Rhodesian pound. In late June 1969, Rhodesian voters agreed to adopt a new constitution which would establish a republic (1969 Rhodesian constitutional referendum); the country had previously been in the Commonwealth of Nations under the British monarchy. On 17 February 1970, Rhodesia changed over to decimal currency. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland halfpenny and penny were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the 1⁄2 cent coin, 1 cent coin (click for image) (their values were not exactly equal) and a 2+1⁄2 cent (3d) tickey. The new coins depicted the Rhodesian coat of arms on the obverse instead of Queen Elizabeth II's portrait, reflecting the de facto constitutional change. The 1964 coinage issue remained in circulation. The sixpence (6d) became 5 cents, the shilling (1/-) became 10 cents, the florin (2/-) became 20 cents, and the half-crown (2/6) became 25 cents. In 1973, a new cupronickel five cent coin was issued. This coin had the Rhodesian coat of arms alone on the obverse, to which the legend RHODESIA was added for the 1975–77 strikings. In 1975 a new ten cent and 25 cent piece appeared; it was struck in this year only. A new 20 cent coin was struck in 1975 and again in 1977. The last Rhodesian coins were struck in 1977. The 1977 1⁄2 cent coin is extremely rare, with 10 pieces known. Following independence under majority rule in 1980 as Zimbabwe, the Rhodesian dollar was withdrawn in late 1980 and replaced by the Zimbabwean dollar at par.
The Zimbabwean dollar (sign: $, or Z$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies) was the name of four official currencies of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 12 April 2009. During this time, it was subject to periods of extreme inflation, followed by a period of hyperinflation. The Zimbabwean dollar was introduced in 1980 to directly replace the Rhodesian dollar (which had been introduced in 1970) at par (1:1), at a similar value to the US dollar. In the 20th century the dollar functioned as a normal currency, but in the early 21st century hyperinflation in Zimbabwe reduced the Zimbabwean dollar to one of the lowest valued currency units in the world. It was redenominated three times (in 2006, 2008 and 2009), with denominations up to a $100 trillion banknote issued. The final redenomination produced the "fourth dollar" (ZWL), which was worth 1025 ZWD (first dollars). Use of the Zimbabwean dollar as an official currency was effectively abandoned on 12 April 2009. It was demonetised in 2015, with outstanding accounts able to be reimbursed until 30 April 2016. In place of the Zimbabwean dollar, currencies including the South African rand, Botswana pula, pound sterling, Indian rupee, euro, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Chinese yuan, and the United States dollar were used. On 24 June 2019, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe abolished the multiple-currency system and replaced it with a new Zimbabwe dollar (the RTGS Dollar), which was the only official currency in the country between June 2019 and March 2020, after which multiple foreign currencies were allowed again. On 5 April 2024, the dollar was removed and replaced with what the authorities called "a structured currency backed by gold", named Zimbabwean gold or the ZiG.
The kwacha (; ISO 4217: MWK, official name Malawi Kwacha) is the currency of Malawi as of 1971, replacing the Malawian pound. It is divided into 100 tambala. The kwacha replaced other types of currency, namely the British pound sterling, the South African rand, and the Rhodesian dollar, that had previously circulated through the Malawian economy. The exchange rate of the kwacha undergoes fixed periodical adjustments, but since 1994 the exchange rate has floated. In 2005, administrative measures were put in place by Bingu wa Mutharika to peg the exchange rate with other currencies. Banknotes are issued by the Reserve Bank of Malawi. In May 2012, the Reserve Bank of Malawi devalued the kwacha by 34% and unpegged it from the United States dollar. The currency was further devalued by 25% by the central bank in May 2022 followed by another 44% devaluation in November 2023 raising inflation rate in Malawi.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
