Catalog
250 000 Dollars Bearer Cheque
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe |
|---|---|
| Year | 2007 |
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| Reference(s) | P#50 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by the central text block in dark brown intaglio, stating the bearer cheque obligation for Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars, payable on or before 30th June 2008, set against a light green guilloche underprint with ornate lathe-work patterns. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe logo vignette appears at the left, flanked by the denomination numeral 250 000 in large print at upper left and upper right corners. A facsimile signature of Dr. G. Gono, Governor, appears at lower left, with the issue date of 20th December 2007 and the legend BEARER CHEQUE printed below the central text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE Pay the bearer on demand TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS on or before 30th June 2008 for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Issue date: 20th December 2007 BEARER CHEQUE |
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| Comments |
Zimbabwe's bearer cheques were a bureaucratic workaround — legally not banknotes but negotiable instruments, which allowed the Reserve Bank to flood the market with high-denomination paper without formally acknowledging the collapse of its monetary system. By 2007, inflation was running into the thousands of percent annually, and the 250,000 dollar denomination, which would have been unthinkable a few years earlier, was already losing purchasing power faster than the ink dried.
Gideon Gono, whose signature appears on this cheque, was appointed Governor in 2003 and tasked with an impossible brief. The bearer cheque series was his administration's signature improvisation — and this denomination was obsolete within months of its 12-million-plus print run.