Gradually, Then Suddenly
ZIM1d, 1994, 2 ZWD

Slot Comment:

1st Dollar Banknote AB Prefix

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Note Details

  

Set Details
Note Description: 2 Dollars 1994 - Harare - Sign. #3
Grade: 68 EPQ*
Country: Zimbabwe
Note Number: ZIM1d
Signatures/
Vignettes: 		- Wmk: Zimbabwe Bird Type B
Certification #: 8071646-042
Owner: Revenant
Set Category: World
Set Name: Gradually, Then Suddenly
Slot Name: ZIM1d, 1994, 2 ZWD
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

The P-1d is a somewhat rarer variety than the P-1c, but when you look at the two, on the surface, they look pretty much the same. The difference between the P-1c and the P-1d is that the earlier issue uses the first version of the Zimbabwe bird watermark (A) while the later issue uses the newer, second version of the Zimbabwe bird watermark (B) that was also used in later issues, including the Series 2 notes. Zimbabwe started rolling out the Series 2 notes in 1994 and 1995 (and retired the $2 denomination, replacing the P-1 note with a $2 coin). So, between their replacement mid-year of the prior issues with the old watermark and their subsequent replacement with completely new designs, these notes were not in print long. The P-1c is fairly common, but it is just a watermark that separates it from the P-1d – which is one of the rarest and most desirable notes in the Zimbabwe note collection.

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 the note shows a tigerfish and an image of Kariba dam. The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands 128 meters (420 feet) tall and 579 meters (1,900 feet) long. The dam forms Lake Kariba which extends for 280 kilometers (170 miles) and holds 185 cubic kilometers (150,000,000 acre-ft) of water. It was designed by Coyne et Bellier and constructed between 1955 and 1959 by Impresit of Italy at a cost of $135,000,000 for the first stage with only the Kariba South power cavern. Final construction and the addition of the Kariba North Power cavern by Mitchell Construction was not completed until 1977 due to largely political problems for a total cost of $480,000,000. During construction, 86 men lost their lives.

The name “tigerfish” can refer to more than one species of fish. The species native to Lake Kariba is Hydrocynus vittatus. They are prized as game fish and for trophy hunting. Even though they come from different zoological families the Tigerfish is considered the African equivalent of the South American piranha and it seems an apt comparison. The fish are muscular, aggressive, group-hunting predators with interlocking, razor-sharp teeth. They are the first freshwater fish recorded and confirmed to catch birds in flight. Frankly, they look nasty and unpleasant. The note brags this up by showing the fish jumping from the water with its teeth out.

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