commemorative: South Africa - 2018 Nelson Mandela Centennial Commemorative Full Set (Hybrid

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Total commemorative banknotes issued is under 1,500 pieces. If you have achieved any figures close to this, then you are doing extremely well, as many of the older commemorative notes are hard to find even in poor conditions.

Opinion: Many collectors of commemorative banknotes would have come across with those Somaliland sets overprinted with gold and silver texts with the following wordings - 5th Anniversary of Independence 18 May 1996 [Sanad Gurade 5ee Gobanimadda 18 May 1996]. I believe these are "home made" (or fake) and not authorised by the central bank. My argument is simple. No central bank would have issued an overprint commemorative banknote that the texts are so large that it would cover the two signatures on the note as well as part of the serial numbers. Even if these are genuine notes, then these could be issued as souvenir sheets and not as legal tender. As I said before, this is my opinion. If you have paid top dollars for these, please think about my argument. There is always a sucker around the corner, including me of course!

All comments are most welcome but it has to be subjects related to banknotes or banknotes collection. If not, it will not be approved. Thanks

14 February 2019

South Africa - 2018 Nelson Mandela Centennial Commemorative Full Set (Hybrid - 10 & 20 Rand)

Republic of South Africa / iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika

South African Reserve Bank

This is a complete set of 5 notes with values from 10 to 200 Rand all issued on 18/07/2018, celebrating the birth centennial of Nelson Mandela 1918 - 2018.

Nelson Mandela was born on 18/07/1918 in a village of Mvezo, Umtata (almost 1,000 kilometers south of Pretoria). His birth name was Rolihlahla Mandela. He became the first democratically elected President of South Africa after his party, the African National Congress (ANC) won the general election held on 27/04/1994, thus formally ended the apartheid era in South Africa. However he only served for one 5-year term as President and retired from politic in June 1999. He died on 05/12/2013, aged 95 years old. In 2012, a full set of South African notes were issued with his portrait printed on the front. However those notes were normal notes for general circulations. This is the first time South Africa has issued commemorative banknotes.

The theme for this commemorative series depicts the life of its first democratically elected President, Nelson Mandela. The portrait and image of Nelson Mandela are printed on both sides of all the notes. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela is commonly known by his Xhosa clan name Madiba and this name is also printed on the back of the notes. The words Mandela Centenary 1918-2018 are also included in the designs. In addition to the banknotes, a 5 Rand commemorative coin is also issued for this special occasion.

The design of each note depicts various stages of the life of Nelson Mandela, from the beginning until he became the President of South Africa;

10 Rand - Birth: his birth place in Mvezo;
20 Rand - Life: his former home in Soweto;
50 Rand - Capture: Mandela's Memorial in Howick when he was captured in 1962. Fifty steel plates showing his image;
100 Rand - Struggle: Robben Island with rock pile started by Mandela and where he served 27 years as a political prisoner; and
200 Rand - Destiny: Union Buildings, where he served as President from 1994 to 1999.

In following with the tradition of banknotes of South Africa, the central bank's name on the front is printed in English - South Africa Reserve Bank. However on the bank the names are printed with two other official languages; -

10 Rand - Africaans & Swati;
20 Rand - Southern Ndebele & Tswana;
50 Rand - Venda & Xhosa;
100 Rand - Northern Sotho & Tsonga;
200 Rand - Sotho & Zulu.

These notes are all printed by De La Rue. The two lowest denominations of 10 and 20 rand are printed on Louisenthal's Hybrid material with the cotton paper core sandwiched by polyester protective film on both sides for durability.

These notes were launched on 13.07.2018 by the bank's governor Lesetja Kganyago.

Ten Rand (Hybrid)