10 Dollars 1979, Rhodesia
| in Krause book | Number: 41а |
| Years of issue: | 02.01.1979 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Governor: Mr. Desmond C. Crough |
| Serie: | Decimal system |
| Specimen of: | 02.01.1979 |
| Material: | 100% raw cotton |
| Size (mm): | 157 х 88 |
| Printer: | RBR, Salisbury |
* 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:
Great bird figurine from soapstone - founded in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
Avers:
On the right side is the coat of arms of Rhodesia.
Coat of arms depicts two black antelope, standing atop an earthen mound. Also located at the bottom of the inscription: Sit Nomine Digna (Maybe worthy of its name) associated with Rhodes. the shield golden hammer on a green background, indicating the extraction of natural resources, the basis of economic stability Rhodesia.
Great bird figurine from soapstone on top, found in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the southeastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo, close to the Chimanimani Mountains and the Chipinge District. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's Late Iron Age. Construction on the monument by ancestors of the Shona people began in the 11th century and continued until the 14th century, spanning an area of 722 hectares (1,780 acres) which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people. It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Bank logo at top center. The logo - a miracle of nature, balancing stones in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
Bottom left is The sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope which inhabits wooded savannah in East Africa south of Kenya, and in Southern Africa.
Denominations in numerals are in three corners, in words in center.
Revers:
Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the southeastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwe and the town of Masvingo, close to the Chimanimani Mountains and the Chipinge District. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's Late Iron Age. Construction on the monument by ancestors of the Shona people began in the XI century and continued until the XIV century, spanning an area of 722 hectares (1,780 acres) which, at its peak, could have housed up to 18,000 people. It is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Great Zimbabwe served as a royal palace for the Zimbabwean monarch and would have been used as the seat of political power. One of its most prominent features were the walls, some of which were over five meters high and which were constructed without mortar. Eventually the city was abandoned and fell into ruin.
The earliest known written mention of the ruins was in 1531 by Vicente Pegado, captain of the Portuguese garrison of Sofala, who recorded it as Symbaoe. The first visits by Europeans were in the late XIX century, with investigations of the site starting in 1871. Later, studies of the monument were controversial in the archaeological world, with political pressure being put upon archaeologists by the government of Rhodesia to deny its construction by black people. Great Zimbabwe has since been adopted as a national monument by the Zimbabwean government, and the modern independent state was named for it. The word "Great" distinguishes the site from the many hundreds of small ruins, now known as "zimbabwes", spread across the Zimbabwe Highveld. There are 200 such sites in southern Africa, such as Bumbusi in Zimbabwe and Manyikeni in Mozambique, with monumental, mortarless walls; Great Zimbabwe is the largest.
On banknote, also, 2 Miombo trees.
Miombo is the vernacular word for Brachystegia, a genus of tree comprising many tree species together with Julbernardia species in woodlands. Miombo woodland is classified in the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme). The biome includes four woodland savanna ecoregions characterized by the predominant presence of miombo species, with a range of climates from humid to semi-arid, and tropical to subtropical or even temperate.
Characteristically the trees shed their leaves for a short period in the dry season to reduce water loss, and produce a flush of new leaves just before the onset of the rainy season with rich gold and red colours masking the underlying chlorophyll, reminiscent of temperate autumn colours.
The name miombo is used in a number of Bantu languages in the region such as Swahili, Shona and Bemba. In Bemba, the word "miombo" is the plural of the word "muombo", which is the specific name for the species Brachystegia longifolia. 
Denominations in numerals are in all corners, in words lower in center.
Comments:
The dollar (R$) was the currency of Rhodesia between 1970 and 1980. It was subdivided into 100 cents.
The dollar was introduced on 17 February 1970, less than a month before the declaration of a republic on 2 March 1970. It replaced the pound at a rate of 2 dollars to 1 pound. The dollar proved to be a strong currency, at parity with the pound sterling right up to the very end of Rhodesia in 1980, when it was replaced by the Zimbabwean dollar at par. However, the Rhodesian dollar was never a fully convertible currency and its exchange rate was therefore not an indication of the underlying economics.
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