Banknotes of Zimbabwe - Other Circulating Banknotes

Other Circulating Banknotes

As in every fiscal emergency, hard currency, particularly the United States dollar, has long served as a parallel currency on the black market, and many prices in shops would be posted in US dollars, even during periods when it was illegal to possess foreign currency or to transact business in US dollars.

A unique form of circulating specie is the Petrol Coupon, which has been issued in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Known denominations include 1, 5, 10, 20, & 50 litres of petrol (gasoline) and/or diesel, and translate roughly into the local petrol price (about 1 UK pound sterling per litre or US$1.50 in late 2008). Businesses, including Western Union, have been reported paying employees with these coupons, and even auctions have been transacted in this currency. As with much Zimbabwe currency, printing standards are crude and counterfeiting is rampant; the RBZ has been dissuading this widespread use.

Read more about this topic:  Banknotes Of Zimbabwe

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