Catalog
10 000 Dollars Emergency Bearer Cheque
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 147 × 73 mm |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | $10000 RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE $10000 BEARER CHEQUE Pay the bearer on demand TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS on or before 31st January 2004 for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Issued date: 15 September 2003 |
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| Reverse lettering | 50505050 |
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| Comments |
Zimbabwe's hyperinflation was already severe by 2003, but this note predates the truly catastrophic phase — the 100 trillion dollar notes were still five years away. The "Emergency Bearer Cheque" designation was a legal workaround: by issuing these instruments as cheques rather than banknotes, the Reserve Bank sidestepped statutory limits on currency issuance that the government's own legislation had imposed.
Fidelity Printers and Refiners, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank itself, handled production domestically — a consequence of Zimbabwe's increasing international isolation making foreign security printing contracts difficult to maintain.