South Africa: New banknotes to feature former president Nelson Mandela

update (31 Oct 2012): The bank notes featuring former president Nelson Mandela will enter circulation in South Africa on 06 November 2012, the South African Reserve Bank said on 30 Oct 2012. 

The South African Reserve Bank announced the forthcoming introduction of a new series of banknotes honouring former president Nelson Mandela. The new banknotes, which are equipped with a unique combination of state-of-the-art security features, will come into circulation before the end of 2012. The new banknotes will also have enhanced features for the visually impaired, including raised print on both sides.
The front of the banknotes feature an image of South Africa's first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela, while the back of the notes have maintained the "Big Five" animal images that appear on current banknotes. The current and the new banknotes will co-circulate and both are legal tender.

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update (21 Sept 2012): To introduce South Africa's new banknotes, the South African Reserve Bank has released a TV commercial to inform the public.

South Africa to phase out the 5ct coin

South Africa will no longer be making 5 cent coins, says Cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi.
Briefing the media on Thursday, Manyi said at its ordinary meeting on Wednesday that Cabinet had noted the discontinuation of the production of the South African 5 cent denomination coin.
Further to this, the 10 cent denomination coin is to be replaced with a new 10 cent denomination coin with effect from April next year.
"The new proposed 10 cent denomination coin will remain the same size. The metal content will change from the previous bronze-plated steel to copper-plated steel. This will result in the reduction in cost of producing these coins," said Manyi.
Various commemorative coin designs for 2012 were also approved by Cabinet, including 2012 Natura series 24 carat gold coins, a 2012 R2 Crown to mark the Olympic Games and the Centenary of the Race to the South Pole. (via Buanews)