| Slot: |
1,000 Dollars ZIM15 |
| Item: |
Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank "Emergency Issue"
1000 Dollars ND (2003) |
| Grade: |
PMG 64 EPQ |
| Cert #: |
8085735-001
|
Owner Comments
The thing that makes the P-15, $1000 checks particularly interesting is that they are for $1000. By 2003 the country had the P-12, $1000 banknote. The Cargill Bearer checks excluded a $1000 denomination and only had $5000 (P-13) and $10000 (P-14). The 2003 Bearer checks (P-21 to P-23) also exclude a $1000 denomination. What the existence of P-15 suggests, what I can only assume, is that they were having a hard time printing enough of the P-12 banknotes to meet market needs for a while and they had to make these to fill the gap.
This example was dated 02-03-2004, lining up with the 02 Mar 2004 stamp it got from Teller 2 at the Victoria Falls Branch at the Metropolitan Bank of Zimbabwe. It was stamped as PAID by the RBZ just 6 days later on 08 Mar 2004, suggesting that some people were still interested in redeeming these and flipping them for whatever minimal value they must have still had at that point in time. They weren’t worthless by 2004, they were just close to it. Interestingly, this is another example where the seller stamped this on the front and back. There’s a lot of variability and how these things were stamped and handled by different banks, branches, and maybe even tellers, which can give each one of these cancelled checks their own character.
But there is a snarky part of me that wonders - how did the value of this check at redemption compare to the cost of the ink from the ink pad or self-inking stamp that someone had to use to stamp and process it? Was this thing even worth the ink used to stamp it?
|
| Slot: |
5,000 Dollars ZIM16 |
| Item: |
Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank "Emergency Issue"
5000 Dollars ND (2003) |
| Grade: |
PMG AU 55 EPQ |
| Cert #: |
8085735-002
|
Owner Comments
This example was dated 30-03-05, lining up with the 30 03 2005 stamp it got at the ZIMBANK Foreign Exchange desk at the Belmont Branch in Bulawayo. It was stamped as PAID by the RBZ on 02 Apr 2005, suggesting that some people were still interested in redeeming these and flipping them for whatever minimal value they must have still had at that point in time. They weren’t worthless by 2005, they were just very close to it.
There is a snarky part of me that wonders - how did the value of this check at redemption compare to the cost of the ink from the ink pad or self-inking stamp that someone had to use to stamp and process it? Was this thing even worth the ink used to stamp it? I imagine by mid-2005 that would have been getting pretty questionable / iffy.
|
| Slot: |
10,000 Dollars ZIM17 |
| Item: |
Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank "Emergency Issue"
10,000 Dollars ND (2003) |
| Grade: |
PMG 65 EPQ |
| Cert #: |
8087632-062
|
Owner Comments
This check is a fun one for me because it was stamped on 18 OCT 2004, the day before my 18th birthday, at the Jason Mayo St Branch in Bulawayo. It also has the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, “Inward Clearing” stamp from the Bulawayo branch of the RBZ, dated 2004-10-22. Both of those stamps are on the front of the check, with the back of this check being left blank. The date line and the signature lines on this one where left blank.
|
| Slot: |
20,000 Dollars ZIM18 |
| Item: |
Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank "Emergency Issue"
20,000 Dollars ND (2003) |
| Grade: |
PMG 64 EPQ |
| Cert #: |
8085735-004
|
Owner Comments
With regard to this example / specimen, it is dated 05-12-2003, which I think means Dec 5th, 2003. Based on the date convention I think they use (the UK D-M-Y standard). This seems supported by the stamps. The check was stamped 05-12-2003 at - if I’m reading this right - the ForEx desk of the Standard Chartered Bank of Zimbabwe’s Avondale, Harare Branch. It is stamped as PAID on 08 Dec 2003 by the RBZ in Harare. These are the same dates and stamps as are on the P-16 (8085761-002) and the P-17 (8085735-003) in this set. That P-17 and this P-18 seem to have been issued to and redeemed by the same person - just not the same person that had the P-16.
This gives these three notes in this series a very fun, cool, bit of shared history. But, while it is fun and cool, I can’t really say it is too surprising, given that I bought all of these from the same seller, who most likely got them in large batch a number of years ago.
These three checks then were probably issued and redeemed just 3 days later. The gap between issuance and redemption on a lot of these seems to have been very short, but I think that makes sense during a time of turmoil and rapid inflation. People knew not to let these things sit too long.
|
| Slot: |
50,000 Dollars ZIM19 |
| Item: |
Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank "Emergency Issue"
50,000 Dollars ND (2003) |
| Grade: |
PMG AU 55 EPQ |
| Cert #: |
8085735-005
|
Owner Comments
This example is interesting in that the hand-written date and both the stamps all indicate the same day - 08-12-03. This is another Standard Chartered Bank of Zimbabwe note, but I can’t fully make out the name of the branch / location it was stamped at.
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| Slot: |
100,000 Dollars ZIM20 |
| Item: |
Zimbabwe, Reserve Bank "Emergency Issue"
100,000 Dollars ND (2003) |
| Grade: |
PMG AU 55 |
| Cert #: |
8085735-006
|
Owner Comments
The hand-written date on this check is 20-11-03. I can’t make out much of anything of the smaller stamp on this one, but, based on the size / shape and color I’d say it’s probably another Standard Chartered stamp, dated for 21-11-03. It was stamped as PAID by the RBZ on what looks like 28 Nov 2003. There’s some doubling on the RBZ stamp that makes me think this was done with a self-inking stamp like the ones we use sometimes at my job. I’m guessing they hit it once, didn’t make a very dark mark and tried to hit it again - or they knew they were running out of ink and caused some doubling when they were just trying to make sure they got a good impression. It’s a funny thing to think about, holding the check 18 years later. There’s another stamp on the back saying ZIMBANK Foreign Exchange, Belmont Branch in Bulawayo, dated 19-11-2003. It’s hard to know what to think when you see different stamps that seem to tell different stories, but the more likely explanation is I just don’t know enough about the process these went through when being redeemed.
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