Gradually, Then Suddenly
ZIM19, 2003, 50,000 ZWD

Slot Comment:

1st Dollar Emergency Travellers Check

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Note Details

  

Set Details
Note Description: 50,000 Dollars ND (2003)
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: Zimbabwe
Note Number: ZIM19
Signatures/
Vignettes: 		- Wmk: Zimbabwe Bird
Certification #: 8085761-005
Owner: Revenant
Set Category: World
Set Name: Gradually, Then Suddenly
Slot Name: ZIM19, 2003, 50,000 ZWD
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

The RBZ issued special traveler's checks in 2003 – the same year the $1,000 banknotes (P-12) were released. They came after the Cargill Bearer checks (P-13 and P-14) and ultimately had six denominations ranging from $1,000 (P-15) to $100,000 (P-20). The issuance of these “emergency issue” checks at least partially overlaps with the issuance of the 1st dollar banknotes, which did not end until after the 2004 issuance of the P-11b (500 ZWD) - but I know from the dates on some of these that these checks were in use or redeemable until at least Apr 2005.

This series of emergency issue checks were short-lived due to their unpopularity with the public - Identification was required both during issue and cashing of these checks and they could only be used once by the bearer. Banks also levied a commission fee on the checks, which I am sure made them even more unpopular with the public.

These are interesting additions to my signature set / my larger Zimbabwe collection and the pick list because these are literal checks. They come from banks and not the RBZ and they were one-time only payment instruments. These were not banknotes or the kind of pseudo-banknotes represented by the RBZ Bearer checks that followed (P-21 to P-23 and P-28 to P-30, which had mostly the same denominations) or the 2nd dollar bearer checks and agro checks (P-33 to P-64). These were stamped and canceled when they were redeemed - as this one has been.

By 2003, the country's economy had collapsed. It is estimated that up to a fourth of Zimbabwe's 11 million people had fled the country. Three-quarters of the remaining Zimbabweans were living on less than one US dollar a day. 2003 was the first year that inflation officially exceeded 200% (even though 2002 came very close at 198.93%) and the inflation rate blew right past that milestone and the 500% milestone in the same year. In Jun 2002, US$1 was equal to $1,000, which would have made P-15 equal to a US $1 bill. By March 2005, however, US$1 was ZWD$10,000, and by January 2006 US$1 was equal to ZWD$100,000, meaning the P-15 ($500,000) would have been worth just US$0.50.

It seems like there was some strange shifting back and forth with the Cargill and Traveler’s checks (P-13 to P-20, 2003), then bearer checks (P-21 to P-23, 2003), then more traveler’s checks (P-24 to P-27, 2003) and then more bearer checks that are very similar to and seemingly a continuation of the earlier bearer check issues (P-28 to P-32, 2005-2006), at the same time you had the P-12 (2003) and P-11 (2001-2004) hitting the streets. This is all probably a very confusing outgrowth of the government struggling to deal with the emerging / accelerating hyperinflation – and doing a terrible job of it.

These 2003 dated traveler’s checks have the signature of Acting Governor Charles Chikaura, who was only in the post for a few months in 2003 before Gideon Gono took over the job - and ran the currency the rest of the way into the ground / grave.

With regard to this particular example, the dates are a bit confusing. Many of these are dated with pen and stamped with the same date initially. This check, on the other hand has a date of 16/09/03 in pen on the line, but the stamp indicates 18 Sep 2003, at the Samnujoma St Branch in Harare for the “Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, Limited” - stamped by Teller 4. Adding to my confusion, the back of the note is stamped ZIMBANK Teller 5, First Street, Harare… but dated on 15 Sep 2003 - before the date on the line on the front. I’m not sure what the story is there.

What makes this example a little more interesting to me is that it is stamped as PAID by the RBZ in Harare on 18 Oct 2003 - which happens to have been the day before my 17th birthday. Interestingly, I’ve seen three examples of these now with stamps for 18 Oct, in either 2003 or 2004, but I’ve never seen one stamped on the 19th of October, and I have no clue why.

But that set of stamps and dates puts a solid month between when this was issued and when it was paid / redeemed. That’s a lot longer than the gap I see on many of the others in this group. But this note was redeemed 6 months after those march examples. I’m wondering if, by October 2003, these had lost so much value that people just weren’t caring about redeeming them as much.

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