Thematic circulation coins of Zimbabwe

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Flag of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe became independent from the UK on 18th April 1980.

It was formerly known as Rhodesia.

The country has a population of around 13 million people.

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INTRODUCTION OF THE ZIMBABWEAN DOLLAR

The Zimbabwean dollar was introduced in 1980.

It consisted of 100 cents.

The currency directly replaced the Rhodesian dollar at par (1:1).

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INTRODUCTION OF THE ZIMBABWEAN COINAGE

The first Zimbabwean coinage was also issued in 1980.

It consisted of 1 , 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents coins and and 1 dollar coin.


The coins were produced by the Royal Mint (UK).

Barry Stanton modelled the common obverse.


The obverse featured a stone carving of the Zimbabwe bird.

The reverse designs were the work of Jeff Huntly.

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Obverse of the 1 cent coin.

The 1 cent coin was made of bronze.

From 1989 to 1999 it was minted in copper-plated steel.

It weighed 3 grams and was 18.5 mm in diameter.


The obverse featured the soapstone Zimbabwe bird.

It is the national symbol of Zimbabwe.

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Reverse of the 1 cent coin.

The reverse design featured a garland of leaves of the flame lily.

The flame lily is Zimbabwe's national flower.

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Flame lily leaves.

The leaves of the flame lily appear in the spring.

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Flame lily.

The flame lily's scientific name is Gloriosa superba.

From Wikipedia:

This plant is poisonous, and toxic enough to cause human and animal fatalities if ingested. It has been used to commit murder, to achieve suicide, and to kill animals. Every part of the plant is poisonous, especially the tuberous rhizomes.

The plant contains high levels of colchicine, a toxic alkaloid. It also contains the alkaloid gloriocine. Within a few hours of the ingestion of a toxic amount of plant material, a victim may experience nausea, vomiting, numbness, tingling around the mouth, burning in the throat, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea, which leads to dehydration.

As the toxic syndrome progresses, rhabdomyolysis, ileus, respiratory depression, hypotension, coagulopathy, haematuria, altered mental status, seizures, coma, and ascending polyneuropathy may occur. Poisonings can occur when the tubers are mistaken for sweet potatoes or yams and eaten.

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Obverse of the 5 cents coin.

The 5 cents coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 2.5 grams and was 17 mm in diameter.

Here's how the common obverse looked on the copper-nickel coins.

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Reverse of the 5 cents coin.

The reverse design featured a scrub hare.

Its scientific name is Lepus saxatilis.

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A scrub hare.

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Reverse of the 10 cents coin.

The 10 cents coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 3.8 grams and was 20 mm in diameter.

From 2001 to 2003 it was minted in nickel-plated steel.


The reverse design featured a baobab tree.

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A baobab tree (Adansonia digitata).

From Wikipedia:

Baobabs are long-lived deciduous, small to large trees from 5 to 30 m (20 to 100 ft) tall.

Young trees usually have slender, tapering trunks, often with a swollen base.

Mature trees have massive trunks that are bottle-shaped or cylindrical and tapered from bottom to top.

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Reverse of the 20 cents coin.

The 20 cents coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 5.6 grams and was 23 mm in diameter.

From 2001 to 2003 it was minted in nickel-plated steel.


The reverse design featured the Birchenough Bridge and the Sabi River.

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The Birchenough bridge and the Sabi River.

From Wikipedia:

The Birchenough bridge was funded at a cost of £145 000.00. It was planned by the Beit Trust, a foundation chaired at the time by Sir Henry Birchenough. His ashes are buried beneath the structure of the bridge. Ralph Freeman, the bridge's designer, was also the structural designer on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Consequently the two bridges bear a close resemblance, although Birchenough is only two-thirds as long as the Australian bridge.

The bridge is located 62 km from Chipinge in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. It was built by Dorman Long and completed in 1935. At a length of 1,080 feet (329 m), it was the third longest single-arch suspension bridge in the world at the time. The bridge is widely considered by Zimbabweans as being one of the country's finest pieces of engineering.

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Reverse of the 50 cents coin.

The 50 cents coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 7.5 grams and was 26 mm in diameter.

From 2001 to 2003 it was minted in nickel-plated steel.


The reverse design featured a scene with the rising sun, symbolic of independence.