Zimbabwean Zombie Dollars
5 Dollars 2016 Issue Bond Note P100

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Note Details

Set Details
Note Description: Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank
5 Dollars 2016
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: ZIM
Note Number: ZIM100a
Signatures/
Vignettes:		 - Wmk: Zimbabwe Bird & RBZ
- Bond
Certification #: 8063418-097  
Owner: Revenant
Sets Competing: Zimbabwean Zombie Dollars  Score: 37
Date Added: 8/20/2020
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

The bond notes would be the last attempt by the government of President Robert Mugabe, who “resigned” in 2017, after holding the office since 1987. On Nov 15, 2017, after more than a year of protests, he was placed under house arrest by the national army in a coup d’etat. Four days later his party, ZANU-PF, sacked him as party leader and appointed the Vice President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in his place. He resigned on Nov 21, two days later, before impeachment proceedings could be concluded.

Less than 2 years later, on Sep 6 2019, Rober Mugabe died in Singapore, where he’d been receiving medical treatment off and on since 2018. His body returned to Zimbabwe on Sep 11, 2019. One thousand people had gathered at the airport to hear a speech by President Mnanngagwa, but it is reported that no supporters had gathered along the procession route to his home and only 500 mourners gathered at his birthplace in Zvimba. It was announced on Sep 13 that his burial would be delayed 30 days (from the planned Sep 16) and that he’d be laid to rest in the Heroes Acre Cemetary at the request of the government – the family initially refused this plan, planning to barry him in Zvimba. On Sep 26th, it was stated that he would be buried in Kulama (considered his hometown) “to respect the wishes of families of deceased heroes” - suggesting that some people were not thrilled by the idea of him being laid to rest in a place of honor. He was laid to rest on Sep 28, 2019 – the great hero of the war for independence and black majority control of the country, with his legacy in ruins.

The government announced that yet another new currency was coming in June 2019 and said, in October 2019, that new $2 and $5 notes for the new currency would be coming in November 2019. Inflation, ever present with Zimbabwean currency, was over 300% in October 2019 - the loss of the peg to the US dollar had caused the value of the bond notes and the RTGS dollar to collapse. This led to shortages of foreign currency, fuel, and food. The ‘new’ currency, called the Zimbabwe dollar, used the currency code ZWD, the currency code of the 1st dollar, and incorporated the bond coins, bond notes, electronic bank balances and the RTGS dollar - making you wonder how it was ‘new’ if it rolled all of that over.

As 2020 started the mining sector gave one of the first and clearest signs that the new ZWL and ZWD wouldn't survive long. The mining industry is responsible for bringing most of the foreign currency into the country and the employees know the mining companies are getting US dollars for the diamonds they dig up. And those miners wanted to be paid in US dollars - not in the new Zimbabwe dollars that were already losing purchasing power way too fast. The problem is the mine bosses often don't want to pay the workers in the more valuable foreign currency and disagreements have sometimes escalated to violence and shooting. Mine worker unions have had to negotiate on a quarterly basis not only the pay the workers will receive, but also what percentage of that must be paid in US dollars - using official rates, which are generally higher than "real," market rates.

The bond notes were radically different than the preceding third, and fourth, dollar series and seem more like what you might expect from a modern redesign on the first dollars of the 1980s. More artistry seems to have gone into their design. They use intricate patterns and textures in the artwork. The Chiremba rocks remain on the front of the notes, as always.

The $5 bond note uses an image of giraffes and I do not think giraffes were ever shown so prominently on the Zimbabwean currency before. There is however, a pretty large image of a giraffe on the side of the front of the P-4 notes from the first dollar series – because everything about the design of these things traces back to the first dollars.

The bond notes also seem significantly different than the preceding series in terms of their aspect ratio – looking longer and thinner than the third and fourth dollars. This makes sense in that the country and central bank were surely hoping to do everything they could to distance these bond notes from the previous failed 2nd, 3rd and 4th Zimbabwean currencies - not remind people of them. The RBZ tried to create a new beginning and convince everyone that this was the start of something new and good. It just did not work.

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