50 Rand 1984, South Africa
| in Krause book | Number: 122a |
| Years of issue: | 1984 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | President Governor: Mr. Gerhardus Petrus Christiaan de Kock (01.01.1981 - 07.08.1989) |
| Serie: | Second Issue |
| Specimen of: | 1984 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 147 x 83 |
| Printer: | South African Bank Note Company (Pty) Ltd, Pretoria |
* 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:
On the right side is Jan van Riebeeck (or Bartholomeus Vermuyden)
Jan van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 - 18 January 1677).
The Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town. In 1651 he volunteered to undertake the command of the initial Dutch settlement in the future South Africa. He landed three ships (Dromedaris, Reijger and Goede Hoop) at the future Cape Town on 6 April 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies. The primary purpose of this way-station was to provide fresh provisions for the VOC fleets sailing between the Dutch Republic and Batavia, as deaths en route were very high. The Walvisch and the Oliphant arrived later in 1652, having had 130 burials at sea.
Van Riebeeck was Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662; he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting cereals, fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi people. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there are a few Wild Almond trees still surviving. The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop (Fort of Good Hope) was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions. This fort was replaced by the Castle of Good Hope, built between 1666 and 1679 after van Riebeeck had left the Cape.
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is made after this portrait by Dirck Craey, 1650. Oil on panel, size 74 × 57. Today is in Amsterdams Rijksmuseum.
There are one interesting story about a mistake, made with this portrait on South African banknotes.
"Chiselled features, flowing locks and a manicured mustache. It’s a face that has been immortalized in South African history books, not to mention the paper currency introduced after the country became a republic in 1961.
But, as it turns out, the portrait, a symbol of national pride during the apartheid era, is not of Jan van Riebeeck, but most likely of a Dutch local who never even set foot in the country.
Jonkheer van Kretschmar, a genealogist, concluded in 1984 that the painting from which the image was borrowed was not of Van Riebeeck, the man who arrived with three ships in Table Bay in 1652.
He stated that the portrait, which was painted by Dirck Craey and is now in the possession of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, was probably of another Dutchman named Bartholomeus Vermuyden.
On Rijksmuseum this painting is labelled as “A Portrait of a Man, presumably Bartholomeus Vermuyden”. Similarly, a painting believed to be of Van Riebeeck’s wife is also a case of mistaken identity.
A few scenarios have been posited in abstracts and articles online, but the most likely answer seems to be that it was a rushed job during the acquisition process.
In what is believed to be an actual portrait of the Dutch settler, also on display at the Rijksmuseum, Van Riebeeck’s appearance is markedly different from the face on South Africa’s old currency. Van Kretschmar’s rewriting of history may be less flattering, but it is at least more accurate.
And given that we’re now not at all sure what Van Riebeeck looked like, who was the model for his statue on the Foreshore, which was donated to the city by the Dutch Jan van Riebeeck Society in 1952, 300 years after Van Riebeeck first set foot at the Cape to start a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company? (Business Report)
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 - 18 January 1677).
He was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town. In 1651 he volunteered to undertake the command of the initial Dutch settlement in the future South Africa. He landed three ships (Dromedaris, Reijger and Goede Hoop) at the future Cape Town on 6 April 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies. The primary purpose of this way-station was to provide fresh provisions for the VOC fleets sailing between the Dutch Republic and Batavia, as deaths en route were very high. The Walvisch and the Oliphant arrived later in 1652, having had 130 burials at sea.
Van Riebeeck was Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662; he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting cereals, fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi people. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there are a few Wild Almond trees still surviving. The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop (Fort of Good Hope) was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions. This fort was replaced by the Castle of Good Hope, built between 1666 and 1679 after van Riebeeck had left the Cape.
The African lion is centered, as member of "Big Five" wildlife species.
On the right and left sides are vertical ornaments.
Denominations in numerals are in top left and lower right corners, in words centered.
Revers:
Animals of South Africa at the watering, likely at Orange River. They are: A giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, greater and lesser kudu.
The Orange River (Oranjerivier), Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean. The river forms part of the international borders between South Africa and Namibia and between South Africa and Lesotho, as well as several provincial borders within South Africa. Except for Upington, it does not pass through any major cities. The Orange River plays an important role in the South African economy by providing water for irrigation, as well as hydroelectric power. The river was named by Robert Jacob Gordon after the Dutch Royal House.
Crimson sun over a mountain range. In lower right corner are the palm trees.
Denomination in numeral is in top left corner.
Comments:
The first series of rand banknotes was introduced in 1961 in denominations of 1, 2, 10 and 20 rand, with similar designs and colours to the preceding pound notes to ease the transition. Like the last pound notes, they came in two variants, one with English written first and the other with Afrikaans written first. This practice was continued in the 1966 series which included the first 5 rand notes but did not include the 20 rand denomination.
The 1978 series began with denominations of 2, 5 and 10 rand, with 20 and 50 rand introduced in 1984. This series saw a major design change. In addition, the series has only one variant for each denomination of note. Afrikaans was the first language on the 2, 10 and 50 rand, while English was the first language on 5 and 20 rand.
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