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1000 Dollars Travellers Cheque
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe seal, set against a fine guilloche underprint in pink and green tones. The denomination ZW $1000 appears in the upper left and upper right corners, with the full text 'One Thousand Zimbabwe Dollars' in bold letterpress at the lower left. A signature line for the holder and a countersignature line for the Acting Governor are positioned at the left and right respectively, with MICR encoding printed along the bottom strip. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a soft pink guilloche wave pattern across the entire field, providing a security underprint. A Zimbank teller stamp dated 20 September 2003 from the Gweru branch appears at the upper left, with handwritten payee details and endorsement inscriptions in blue and red ink filling the central area. |
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| Comments |
Zimbabwe's travellers cheque series emerged as a direct response to the cash shortages that began strangling the economy in the early 2000s. Rather than print more conventional banknotes — which were already feeding hyperinflation — the Reserve Bank issued these instruments as a quasi-currency substitute, intended to circulate domestically alongside standard notes. It was an unusual solution: travellers cheques repurposed not for foreign travel but for everyday transactions within the country's own borders.
MICR encoding on a domestic circulating instrument of this type is rare and points to the banking infrastructure these were originally meant to clear through. By 2003, that infrastructure was already under severe strain.