500 Kwacha 2005, Malawi
| in Krause book | Number: 56a |
| Years of issue: | 01.11.2005 |
| Edition: | 151 396 049 |
| Signatures: | Governor: Mr. Victor Mbewe (in office 2005 - 2009) |
| Serie: | 2001 - 2003 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 01.10.2001 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 162 x 81 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Reverend John Chilembwe and denomination 500.
Avers:
Reverend John Chilembwe (1871 - February 3, 1915) was a Baptist pastor and educator, who trained as a minister in the United States, returning to Nyasaland in 1901. He was an early figure in the resistance to colonialism, in Nyasaland (Malawi), opposing both the treatment of Africans working in agriculture on European-owned plantations and the colonial government's failure to promote the social and political advancement of Africans. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Chilembwe organized an unsuccessful uprising against colonial rule. Today, Chilembwe is celebrated as a hero for independence, and John Chilembwe Day is observed annually on January 15 in Malawi. 
Centered is the view of Lake Nyasa with the lake boat (Dugout) with two fishermen on it. On the background is getting up, at dawn, sun.
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the ninth largest lake in the world and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. It is home to more species of fish than any other lake, including about 1000 species of cichlids. The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011, and in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in the Lake Malawi National Park. Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake; permanent stratification and the toxic-anoxic boundary are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradients.
The Portuguese trader Candido José da Costa Cardoso was the first European to visit the lake in 1846. David Livingstone reached the lake in 1859, and named it "Lake Nyasa". "Nyasa" in language of Yao people means "Lake".
A dugout or dugout canoe is a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon (μονόξυλον) (pl: monoxyla) is Greek - mono- (single) + ξύλον xylon (tree) - and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In Germany they are called einbaum ("one tree" in English). Some, but not all, pirogues are also constructed in this manner.
The well-watered tropical rainforest and woodland regions of sub-Saharan Africa provide both the waterways and the trees for dugout canoes, which are commonplace from the Limpopo River basin in the south through East and Central Africa and across to West Africa. African Teak is the timber favoured for their construction, though this comprises a number of different species, and is in short supply in some areas. Dugouts are paddled across deep lakes and rivers or punted through channels in swamps (makoro) or in shallow areas, and are used for transport, fishing and hunting, including, in the past, the very dangerous hunting of hippopotamus. Dugouts are called pirogues in Francophone areas of Africa.
The fisherman casts a cast (or throw) net with sinkers.
A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a circular net with small weights distributed around its edge.
The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. This technique is called net casting or net throwing. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in. This simple device is particularly effective for catching small bait or forage fish, and has been in use, with various modifications, for thousands of years. On the US Gulf Coast, it is used especially to catch mullet, which will not bite a baited hook.
Contemporary cast nets have a radius which ranges from 4 to 12 feet (1.2 to 3.6 meters). Only strong people can lift the larger nets once they are filled with fish. Standard nets for recreational fishing have a four-foot hoop. Weights are usually distributed around the edge at about one pound per foot (1.5 kilograms per meter). Attached to the net is a handline, one end of which is held in the hand as the net is thrown. When the net is full, a retrieval clamp, which works like a wringer on a mop, closes the net around the fish. The net is then retrieved by pulling on this handline. The net is lifted into a bucket and the clamp is released, dumping the caught fish into the bucket.
Cast nets work best in water no deeper than their radius. Casting is best done in waters free of obstructions. Reeds cause tangles and branches can rip nets. The net caster may choose to stand with one hand holding the handline, and with the net draped over the other arm so that the weights dangle, or, with most of the net being held in one hand and only a part of the lead line held in the other hand so the weights dangle in a staggered fashion (approximately half of the weights in the throwing hand being held higher than the rest of the weights). The line is then thrown out to the water, using both hands, in a circular motion rather as in hammer throwing. The net can be cast from a boat, or from the shore, or by wading.
There are also optional net throwers that can make casting easier. These look like a lid from a trash can, including the handle on top. The outside circumference has a deep gutter. The net is loaded along the gutter and the weights are placed inside the gutter. The net is then tossed into the water using the thrower.
On right side is the hologram strip with denominations and coat of Malawi.
In lower left corner are the relief (seen through) image of a Malawi woman with bowl on her head (see Reverse).
Denominations in numerals are in top corners. In words centered, at the bottom.
Revers:
On right side is the building of Reserve Bank of Malawi in Blantyre - financial and trade center of the country.
Blantyre - the second largest city in Malawi. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is the capital of the country's Southern Region as well as the Blantyre District.
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), the country's state broadcaster and the provider of one of Malawi's television channels, has its headquarters in Blantyre. The Supreme Court is located here. The city houses the College of Medicine, the Malawi Polytechnic and the Kamuzu College of Nursing, constituent colleges of the University of Malawi. The Malawi College of Accountancy is also headquartered there. Its rather unconventional location has meant that Blantyre is surrounded by Mount Soche, Ndirande mountain, Chiradzulu mountain and Michiru Mountain which consolidates the Michiru Mountain Conservation Area.
At inception, the Bank had total assets amounting to K15.96 million with foreign assets amounting to K15.2 million an equivalent of £8.8 million, representing 18.1 percent of the federal currency which was redeemed in Malawi. By 1981, the year its head office moved to Lilongwe, the Reserve Bank of Malawi had expanded its operations when total assets increased to K230.7 million with foreign assets amounting to K43.9 million.
In April, 1989, the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Act was revised stipulating the Bank's principal functions which are in the interest of the national economy and are in line with the economic policies of the government. Before the revision of the Act, the Reserve Bank of Malawi reported to the Treasury. The 1989 RBM Act, however, made the Reserve Bank of Malawi independent from government under section 4. With this independence, the Reserve Bank of Malawi has the full mandate to conduct monetary policy whereas fiscal policy issues are the mandate of the Ministry of Finance. The Reserve Bank of Malawi therefore has to ensure that fiscal developments are consistent with monetary developments.
In 1990, the Reserve Bank of Malawi clocked 25 years of its operations with total assets amounting to K1.03 billion and foreign assets accounting for K324.5 million. By the close of 1998, total assets of the Bank registered a high of K18.8 billion with foreign assets amounting to K11.3 billion. The operations of the Bank have therefore expanded during the years more especially with the growth of the financial sector. This necessitated the building of a new and spacious branch office in Blantyre which was officially opened in November, 1998. (Reserve Bank of Malawi)
At the bottom, right of center, is the savanah with The Crawshay's zebras (Equus quagga crawshayi) and The roan antelopes (Hippotragus equinus)/
The Crawshay's zebra (Equus quagga crawshayi) is a subspecies of the plains zebra. It is native to eastern Zambia, east of the Luangwa River, Malawi, southeastern Tanzania and northern Mozambique south to the Gorongoza District. Crawshay's zebras can be distinguished from other subspecies of plains zebras in that its lower incisors lack an infundibulum. The Crawshay's zebra has very narrow stripes compared to other forms of the Plains zebra.
Three Roan Antelope.
The roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus), by height 160 cm and weight of 300 kg is the second largest representative antelope. Animal received its name due to the color and stiff mane standing conferring antelope some similarities with the horse. Characteristic of the species are in the form of curved Turkish saber long sharp horns, brushes on large ears and a black face with white spots .Antelope inhabit throughout Africa except the Sahara, Kalahari, Somali Peninsula, rainforest of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea.
Denomination in numeral is in top left corner. In words in lower left corner.
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