50 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars - Featuring Kariba Dam and the African Bush Elephant!

50 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars - Historical Context and interesting facts behind the design

In 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar was established to replace the Rhodesian dollar and signify the nation’s independence from the United Kingdom. Its face value was redefined three times before its eventual collapse due to hyperinflation.

       
The front side of the Zimbabwe 50 trillion dollar is practically identical to the 100 trillion dollar banknote with changes only in color from the light blue and orange that we know to a light green and gray, and a clear differentiation in denomination from the 100 trillion to the 50 trillion. In addition, on the front side of the 50 trillion dollar banknote, we see the famous Chiremba balancing rocks from Epworth, a Harare province. These rocks are said to represent the delicate balance between man and nature. This banknote has a hidden watermark that displays its complete denomination when held up to a light source, the letters RBZ repeat along the left side of the banknote and are printed in a gold color shifting ink. Lastly, we see an under print of a cow with grains and a color shifting security ink that features the country’s official emblem, The Zimbabwe bird.

     
The back of this banknote is where the two designs truly differ. Unlike the hundred trillion dollar banknote, the 50 trillion dollar banknote features the famous Kariba Dam that is formed by way of the Zambezi River Basin which in turn creates Lake Kariba. The word Kariba is derived from Kariva, which means “trap” and refers to the local Tonga legend of the Zambezi River God Nyaminyami who would trap canoes in the river and submerge them. To the right of the Kariba Dam image, we see the African bush elephant, the largest living land mammal on the planet. Seen here reaching for some leaves on the banknote. These animals’ diets rely solely on the native plants.