The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is adding enhanced security features, a splash more color and some new plants and animals to the country's currency in the first major upgrade to its banknotes and coins in more than a decade.
The changes, announced on Wednesday, were in line with international best practice, where generally it is recommended that countries upgrade banknotes and coins regularly to fight against counterfeit notes.
The SARB said SA had one of the lowest counterfeit rates in the world, with only an estimated three fake notes for every million banknotes produced.
And while there will be some noticeable differences to the upgraded currency, which will start being circulated this week, former president Nelson Mandela and Africa's Big Five will still adorn the notes.
There will also be no changes to any of the denominations or size of the banknotes.
The R20 banknote will become a "more visible" brown, the R50 banknote will be tinged with purple rather than its current red, and the R200 will be a more vibrant orange.
The upgrade, the first major one since Mandela's portrait was included on the country's banknotes in 2012, will also expand the Big Five pictures theme on the back of the banknotes to incorporate family scenarios depicting parents and offspring.
The security features include watermarks and a pic of the Big Five animals that appear on the banknote. There will also continue to be specific physical characteristics to help visually impaired people differentiate the banknotes from one another.
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R10 Notes Front
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| R10 Notes Back |
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| R20 Notes Front |
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| R20 Notes Back |
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| R50 Notes Front |
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| R50 notes Back |
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| R100 Notes Front |
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| R100 Notes Back |
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R200 Notes Front
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| R200 Notes Back |
SARB is also introducing new animal depictions on some of its coins, including the Cape honey bee replacing the aloe on 10c pieces; and the southern right whale, accompanied by SA's national fish, the galjoen, on the R5 coin - replacing the buffalo. Previously featured on R1 coins, the springbok will now be on R2 coins, replacing the kudu.
The R1 coin, meanwhile, will now feature the king protea flower. The bitter aloe will be represented on the 20c while the Knysna turaco (loerie) is on the 50c.
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| 10 Cent |
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| 20 Cent |
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| 50 Cent |
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| 2 Rand |
