20000000000 ZWL #616

Front

This note bears the national coat of arms of Zimbabwe at upper left, featuring the Zimbabwe Bird, a pickaxe and hoe crossed below a torse, and the motto "Unity Freedom Work". The front displays the denomination "10 RAND" from a South African Reserve Bank note that appears to have been erroneously paired with this Zimbabwean reverse. The South African note features Nelson Mandela (1918–2013), anti-apartheid revolutionary and first democratically elected President of South Africa (1994–1999), honored on South African currency since 2012.

Back

Chiremba Balancing Rocks (also known as Epworth Balancing Rocks), a natural geological formation of precariously stacked granite boulders located near Harare, Zimbabwe. These rocks have become an iconic national symbol, representing stability and balance, and appear on various Zimbabwean banknotes and the old Zimbabwean dollar coins. The rocks are part of Zimbabwe's rich geological heritage of granite kopjes formed over millions of years through weathering and erosion.

History

This appears to be a mismatched pair: the front shows a South African Reserve Bank 10 Rand note from the Nelson Mandela series (introduced 2012–2013, still in circulation), while the back shows a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe 20 Billion Dollar note from 2008. The Zimbabwean note was issued during the peak of Zimbabwe's catastrophic hyperinflation (2007–2008), when the country experienced one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in recorded history, with inflation rates reaching billions of percent per year. The Third Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWL, August 2008–February 2009) saw denominations escalate from millions to trillions within months. Signed by Dr. Gideon Gono, Governor of the Reserve Bank from 2003–2013, who presided over the printing of increasingly large denominations in a futile attempt to keep pace with inflation. The currency was officially demonetized in April 2009 when Zimbabwe adopted a multi-currency system. These hyperinflation notes are now collectible reminders of economic collapse. The P-86 20 Billion Dollar note is readily available on the collector market given the massive quantities printed.