100 Pula

The 100 Pula is the highest denomination in regular circulation for Botswana, a country whose currency has remained remarkably stable since the Pula replaced the Rand-linked South African currency in 1976. That stability is no accident — Botswana's diamond revenues, managed through the Bank of Botswana's Pula Fund, gave the currency genuine reserve backing from early on, an unusual position for a landlocked sub-Saharan state in the late twentieth century.

Thomas De La Rue has printed Botswana's banknotes since the Pula's introduction, an unbroken relationship spanning nearly five decades. The P#33 series ran for seven years before being superseded, a relatively long run for a high-denomination note in a region where periodic redesigns are common security practice.