Catalog
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| Issuer | Bank of Tanzania |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 145 × 72 mm |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| 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 | A large intaglio vignette of a black rhinoceros facing right occupies the right-centre of the note, set against a multicolour guilloche underprint with floral motifs. The national arms appear at upper centre-left, flanked by the bank title and legal tender inscription at top. Two signatures are present below the arms, attributed to the Minister of Finance (Waziri wa Fedha) and the Governor (Gavana), with a vertical security stripe and colour-shifting denomination numerals along the right margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a detailed intaglio vignette of an industrial mining processing facility with conveyor structures and ore heaps occupying the centre. The House of Wonders (Beit al-Ajaib) in Zanzibar is rendered at the left, its distinctive clock tower and colonial arcade clearly delineated. Denomination numerals appear in bold at upper right and lower left, with microprinted text bands running horizontally across the upper field. |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
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| Comments |
Tanzania's 5000 Shilling note had been the highest denomination in circulation for years before inflationary pressure eventually forced the introduction of larger values. The 2003 series was printed by Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig — a firm with deep roots in African central bank contracts going back decades, and one that managed security production for numerous post-independence currency programs across the continent.
The security package here is modest by contemporary standards: a windowed thread and watermark, with no color-shifting ink or microprinting registered for this Pick 38 issue. Passable for the denomination at the time, but the note was superseded relatively quickly as Tanzania's currency modernized through the following decade.