Gradually, Then Suddenly
ZIM48b, 2006, 100 Thousand ZWN

Slot Comment:

2nd Dollar Emergency Bearer Check AW Prefix - $100,000 Space in Denomination

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Note Details

  

Set Details
Note Description: 100,000 Dollars 2006 - Wmk: Zimbabwe Bird
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: Zimbabwe
Note Number: ZIM48b
Signatures/
Vignettes: 		- With Space in Denomination
Certification #: 8046923-055
Owner: Revenant
Set Category: World
Set Name: Gradually, Then Suddenly
Slot Name: ZIM48b, 2006, 100 Thousand ZWN
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

P-48 was the last / highest denomination in the original, 14 denomination, 2006 bearer check series. With a 1000 to 1 exchange rate between the ZWD and the ZWN, this check had a value equivalent to 100 Million ZWD - try saying that without sounding like a Bond Villain.

It’s interesting that this 2006 series went up to 100,000 dollars and the initial 2007-dated run of the 3rd dollar notes only went up to 1000 dollars, with P-71. That suggests that a 2nd redenomination was always part of their plans, even in the earlier days of planning Operation Sunrise in 2005.

The difference between P-48a and P-48b is the spacing and grouping (or lack thereof) of the digits (zeros) in the denomination. P-48a has no space in the denomination and reads as “100000.” P-48b has a space between the “100” and the “000” in “100 000.” The P-48a is the rarer and more desirable variety. This change in the spacing impacts the P-48a/b and the P-46a/b. Interestingly though, even though they were released at the same time, this a/b variation did not hit the P-47, 50000 note - those just have the space in the denomination.

Where the balancing rocks are a major design feature on the front of the banknotes, with the checks of this series they appear only as part of the seal of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

On the back, the bearer checks of this series feature different designs, emphasizing things of national or cultural significance, much like the first dollar banknotes that came before them. In that regard, these bearer checks are a bit of a cross between the bearer checks and the banknotes of the first dollars in terms of design.

The back of this note features an image of the Great Zimbabwe ruins. This artwork first appeared on P-8 with the first dollar series. This artwork also appears on P-46 (10,000 ZWN), and P-50 (250,000 ZWN). The artwork is later revived in the 4th dollar series with P-94 (10 ZWL). The ruins also appeared in the 3rd dollar series, but the artwork does not appear to have been the same image or a piece of it.

The “Great Zimbabwe” Ruins are the largest collection of ruins in Sub-Saharan Africa. They were built between the 11th and 15th centuries and are located between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. This set of ruins is the largest set but not the only one. Smaller sites are located as far away as Mozambique. The structures are made of granite. They are a source of great national pride, however, they’ve been extensively plundered over time by treasure-hunters and others and this has complicated efforts to learn about the culture that built them – a culture apparently referred to as “Great Zimbabwe.”

This note is one of five of the notes in the 2nd dollar bearer check series that I got for my birthday in 2019.

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