South African rand

The rand (sign: R; code: ZAR) is the South African currency. 100 cents make up one rand. The rand is named after an area near Johannesburg called the Rand, which is famous for its gold mines.

The symbol for the rand is a capital R, written before the sum. Thus, one hundred rands is written as R100. In February 2018, it was announced that a new series of banknotes would be released in commemoration of what would have been Nelson Mandela's centennial year. This series would include notes of all denominations, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-Rand. These notes would circulate alongside existing notes and be released on 18 July 2018, which was the 100th anniversary of his birth.[34] The notes depict the standard face of Nelson Mandela on the obverse, but instead of the Big Five animals on the reverse, they show a younger Mandela with different iconic scenes related to his legacy. These scenes comprise: the rolling hills of the Eastern Cape, featuring Mandela’s humble birthplace of Mvezo (10-Rand); the home of Mandela in Soweto, where he defined his political life alongside other struggle icons (20-Rand); the site where Mandela was captured near Howick, following 17 months in hiding, where a monument has been erected in his honour (50-Rand); the place of Mandela's 27-year imprisonment at Robben Island (100-Rand); the inauguration of Mandela as president at the Union Buildings in 1994 (200-Rand).