Gradually, Then Suddenly
ZIM4c, 1983, 20 ZWD

Slot Comment:

1st Dollar Banknote DA Prefix

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Note Details

  

Set Details
Note Description: 20 Dollars 1983 - Harare
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: Zimbabwe
Note Number: ZIM4c
Signatures/
Vignettes: 		- Wmk: Zimbabwe Bird
- Sign. #2
Certification #: 1539517-097
Owner: Revenant
Set Category: World
Set Name: Gradually, Then Suddenly
Slot Name: ZIM4c, 1983, 20 ZWD
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

Though it might seem hard to believe, there was a time, shortly after it was introduced, when the Zimbabwe dollar was worth more than the US dollar. In 1980 the Zimbabwe dollar was introduced at a value of about US$1.47. However, 1980 was also almost the only year in which Zimbabwe experienced single digit inflation, at a whopping 7%. By the time this note was created, just 3 years later, the Zimbabwe dollar had surrendered that advantage and was mostly at parity with the US dollar. This tells us that inflation, very high, significant, double-digit inflation, was always part of the story of the Zimbabwe dollar, from the very beginning. It took a long time for it to accelerate and kill the currency, but it was always there.

This is one note design in this set that I find quite pretty. It’s greens, blues and oranges show just how late to the game the US was in introducing color to the “greenback” as an anti-counterfeiting measure.

The Zimbabwe regular banknotes feature an image of the Chiremba balancing rock formation - three balancing rocks that are in Matobo National Park. The image of the stones was chosen as a metaphor for balancing development and environmental protection following the country’s transition from white-ruled Rhodesia to the majority black ruled Zimbabwe. The Matobo Hills are composed entirely of granite and it makes for some unique and interesting formations.

The back of this note depicts an Elephant at Victoria Falls - a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, Victoria Falls is classified as the largest, based on its combined width of 1,708 meters (5,604 feet) and height of 108 meters (354 ft), resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water. Victoria Falls is roughly twice the height of Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of Horseshoe Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by Argentina’s and Brazil's Iguazu Falls.

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