Catalog
20 Emalangeni
| Issuer | Central Bank of Swaziland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1984-1985 |
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| Printer | Thomas De La Rue & Company, Limited |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of King Sobhuza II in traditional dress at left, set against a multicolour guilloche underprint with diamond and geometric patterns. A large central vignette contains the denomination numeral '20' within an oval frame inscribed 'LANGEMASHUMI LAMABILI EMALANGENI', flanked by floral and pod motifs; a vignette of Parliament House appears at lower right with two elephants below. Two facsimile signatures appear at bottom right, attributed to the Minister for Finance and the Governor respectively. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A detailed intaglio agricultural panorama occupies the central and right portions of the note, rendered in dark red on a pink and yellow underprint, with sugar cane, pineapple, maize, cotton, and fruit trees framing cattle grazing in open pasture; a truck is visible on a road through a forested hillside in the background. A blank watermark panel is reserved at upper left, beside a multicolour rosette vignette. Denomination numerals '20' appear in each lower corner. |
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| Comments |
The lilangeni was introduced in 1974 when Swaziland broke from the rand monetary area, though the currency maintained a strict one-to-one peg with the South African rand that it has never formally abandoned. This 20 emalangeni note belongs to the earliest series of higher-denomination issues, with De La Rue handling production throughout the formative decade of the currency. The dual-signature varieties — Nxumalo paired with Oliver, then Dlamini with Oliver — reflect successive Central Bank governors while H.B.B. Oliver remained as the constant second signatory across the transition.