Catalog
50 Tambala
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Malawi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1971 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Portrait of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda in intaglio at left, set within a guilloche border medallion; a central vignette depicts two fishermen in a traditional boat on a calm lake, rendered in fine line engraving against a lightly screened underprint. A decorative oval cartouche at centre carries the promise-to-pay text, with the denomination numeral '50' repeated in the upper-right and lower-left corners. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Malawi's first banknote series, of which this 50 Tambala is a part, was introduced in 1964 following independence from British colonial rule and the establishment of the Reserve Bank of Malawi. The tambala subdivision — one hundredth of a kwacha — was itself newly coined terminology, replacing the previous pound-based system when decimal currency was adopted.
Bradbury Wilkinson's New Malden facility was the dominant supplier to newly independent African states throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and their output for Malawi is competent but not among their more elaborately engraved commissions.