Catalog
20 000 Dollars
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe |
|---|---|
| Year | 2008 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a dual vignette composition: Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya — The Smoke that Thunders) on the Zambezi River occupies the central field, while Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River is depicted as a secondary vignette. The design is set against a structured guilloche background with the denomination and bank name rendered in letterpress. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Dr. G. Gono (Sig.8) |
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| Comments |
By the time this note entered circulation in early 2008, Zimbabwe's inflation rate had already rendered its face value nearly meaningless within days of issue. Fidelity Printers and Refiners — the Reserve Bank's own printing subsidiary — was running presses around the clock to keep pace with denominations that multiplied month by month, a logistical absurdity with few modern parallels.
The colour-shifting ink was a costly security feature on a note whose purchasing power evaporated faster than any counterfeiter could exploit it. Within the same year, the 20,000-dollar denomination would be dwarfed by notes denominated in the hundreds of billions.