New Madiba banknotes go into circulation to mark 100th birthday

You will soon find former president Nelson Mandela at your closest cashier as new coins and banknotes commemorating his 100th birthday go into circulation next month.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is launching the commemorative series to celebrate Mandela’s birthday. The late statesman was born on July 18 1918 in Mvezo in the Eastern Cape.

The series will include a new commemorative R5 coin‚ and R10‚ R20‚ R50‚ R100 and R200 banknotes.

“As part of the preparations for the launch‚ test packs of the commemorative banknotes were made available to members of the broader cash industry to allow them to make adequate preparations‚” the SARB said.

“While these test packs were governed by strict confidentiality provisions‚ it has come to the SARB’s attention that certain breaches have occurred‚ and as a result some of the designs have been circulating on social media.”

They added that new designs would be released ahead of the launch on July 13 to avoid confusion and speculation.

“It is envisaged that these notes will be issued into circulation by July 18. These commemorative banknotes and R5 coin will co-circulate for a limited time‚ together with the current Mandela banknote series and the existing R5 coin‚ and both sets will remain legal tender.”

SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said in February that Mandela represented the “best version of ourselves as South Africans”.

“We unveiled the current Mandela series of banknotes in 2012 to honour him. While preserving the value of money is our main mandate‚ our purpose is to be a bastion of institutional strength‚ contributing to a stable and prosperous economy that serves the well-being of all South Africans‚ and guided in part by Madiba’s values.”