5 000 Kwacha

The P#45 5000 Kwacha was the highest denomination in circulation for much of its issue period, a reflection of the cumulative inflation Zambia had endured since the kwacha's introduction in 1968. By the mid-2000s, everyday transactions routinely required stacks of notes at this face value, and the denomination's long print run — nearly a decade — speaks to how long the central bank deferred a redenomination that had clearly become necessary.

That redenomination finally arrived in 2013, when the rebased kwacha was introduced at 1000:1, rendering the entire pre-reform series obsolete. The 5000 Kwacha became worth less than half a new ngwe.