Zairean zaire
| Zairean zaire | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| zaïre (French) | |||||
| |||||
| ISO 4217 code | ZRZ | ||||
| Central bank | Banque du Zaïre | ||||
| User(s) | Zaire | ||||
| Subunit | |||||
| 1/100 | likuta | ||||
| 1/10,000 | sengi | ||||
| Plural | |||||
| likuta | makuta | ||||
| Coins | None for new zaïre | ||||
| Banknotes | 1, 5, 10, 50 new makuta, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000, 500 000, 1 000 000 new zaïres | ||||
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This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. | |||||
The zaïre was the unit of currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then of the Republic of Zaire from 1967 until 1997. There were two distinct currencies.
Zaïre, 1967-1993
The zaïre (symbol: "Z", or sometimes "Ƶ") was introduced in 1967, replacing the Congolese franc at an exchange rate of 1 zaïre = 1000 francs. The zaïre was subdivided into 100 makuta (singular: likuta, symbol: "K"), each of 100 sengi (symbol: "s"). However, the sengi was worth very little and the only sengi denominated coin was the 10 sengi coin issued in 1967. Unusually for any currency, it was common practice to write cash amounts with three zeros after the decimal place, even after inflation had greatly devalued the currency. Inflation eventually caused denominations of banknotes up to 5 million zaïres to be issued, after which the new zaïre was introduced.
Coins
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In 1967, coins were introduced by the Banque Nationale du Congo in denominations of 10 sengi, 1 and 5 makuta, with the lower two denominations in aluminium and the highest in cupro-nickel. In 1973, the first coins issued by the Banque du Zaïre were issued, cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 makuta. In 1987, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of brass 1, 5 and with a 10 zaïres in 1988.
Banknotes
In 1967, the Banque Nationale du Congo introduced notes for 10, 20 and 50 makuta, 1 and 5 zaïres (also shown as 100 and 500 makuta). In 1971, 10 zaïre notes were introduced. In 1972, the Banque du Zaïre started issuing notes for 1, 5 and 10 zaïres, followed by 50 makuta notes in 1973. 50 zaïre notes were introduced in 1980, followed by 100 zaïres in 1983, 500 zaïres in 1984, 1000 zaïres in 1985, 5000 zaïres in 1988, 10,000 zaïres in 1989, 2000, 20,000 and 50,000 zaïres in 1991 and, finally, 100,000, 200,000, 500,000, 1 million and 5 million in 1992.
The 5 million zaïre note, which entered circulation in late 1992, was not accepted as legal tender for several weeks in some parts of the country (notably in the north-east), and in other parts of the country it was accepted for only part of its value. One reason for this mistrust was a grammatical error in the French number on the note, which read "cinq millions zaïres" instead of "cinq millions de zaïres".
New zaïre, 1993-1998
The new zaïre ("nouveau zaïre" in French, symbol "NZ", ISO 4217 code ZRN) replaced the first zaïre in 1993 at an exchange rate of 1 new zaïre = 3,000,000 old zaïres. It was subdivided into 100 new makuta (symbol: "NK"). This currency was only issued in banknote form and suffered from similarly high inflation to its predecessor.
The new zaïre was replaced by the Congolese franc again on July 1, 1998,[1] at an exchange rate of 1 franc = 100,000 new zaïres shortly after Zaïre became the Democratic Republic of Congo once more, in May 1997.
Banknotes
In 1993, notes were issued by the Banque du Zaïre in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 new makuta, 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 new zaïres. These were followed, in 1994, by notes for 200 and 500 new zaïres. In 1995, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 new zaïre notes were introduced, whilst in 1996, notes for 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 and 1 million new zaïres were added. All of the nouveaux zaïre notes feature a portrait of Mobutu Sésé Seko in uniform with cap.[2]
References
- ↑ International Monetary Fund, International Financial Statistcs, November 2007: World & Country Notes
- ↑ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Zaire". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
- Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
- Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.