Type details
| Country | Tanzania |
| Currency | TZS |
| Denomination | 500 |
| Series range | 1989–1993 |
| Issuer | Bank of Tanzania |
| Reverse subject | King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand |
| Themes | education,architecture,monarch |
| Watermark | Giraffe head in clear field at right |
| Security features | thread,microprint,intaglio |
| Colour palette | #d4c5a0,#8b7355,#2d2d2d |
| Material | paper |
| Dimensions (mm) | 145x72 |
| Language / script | Latin script (front), Thai script (back) |
| Languages | en,sw,th |
| Pick # | 26 |
| Rarity | common |
| Legal status | demonetized |
| Legal status date | 1997 |
| Predecessor currency | East African shilling |
| Era | 1990_present |
| Default value (low) | 5.0 |
| Default value (high) | 15.0 |
| Value currency | USD |
Front
School scene depicting education in Tanzania, showing a traditional Tanzanian school building with curved roof architecture and a group of students in uniform. The design emphasizes Tanzania's commitment to education and community development following independence. The traditional geometric patterns in the borders reflect indigenous Tanzanian textile and craft traditions.
Back
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand (1927–2016), who reigned from 1946 to 2016 as the ninth monarch of the Chakri dynasty. This appears to be a mismatched pair: the back shows a Thai banknote (10 Baht) featuring King Bhumibol in military dress uniform with medals and decorations, while the front is clearly a Tanzanian 500 Shillings note. The Thai note is from the Series 14 issued during the 1990s.
History
The front is a Tanzanian 500 Shillings note from the 1989–1993 series (Pick 26), issued by the Bank of Tanzania. This series was introduced following Tanzania's economic reforms in the late 1980s. The design emphasizes education and traditional architecture as symbols of national development. However, the back image is NOT from the same note—it shows a Thai 10 Baht note featuring King Bhumibol Adulyadej in military uniform, part of Thailand's Series 14 banknotes issued in the 1990s. These are two entirely different banknotes from different countries. The Tanzanian 500 Shillings was demonetized in 1997 when Tanzania introduced a new currency series.
