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50 000 Dollars Travellers Cheque
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in blue and pink tones on a fine guilloche underprint, with denomination panels reading 'ZW $50000' in the upper left and upper right corners enclosed within ornate cartouches. A circular vignette at centre carries the Zimbabwe Bird logo encircled by the legend 'RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE'. The denomination written out in full as 'Fifty Thousand Zimbabwe Dollars' appears in bold lettering at lower left, accompanied by a signature line for the holder and standard travellers cheque conditional payment text. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is essentially unprinted, with a continuous fine wave-pattern guilloche covering the entire surface in pale pink and cream tones, serving as a security underprint. No pictorial vignette is present; the design relies solely on the intricate machine-engraved wave patterns to deter counterfeiting. |
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| Comments |
Zimbabwe's travellers cheque issues from 2003 were a direct consequence of the country's accelerating hyperinflationary spiral and the near-collapse of the formal banking system. Retailers and businesses had begun refusing standard banknotes over concerns about fraud and supply shortages, so the Reserve Bank introduced these high-denomination cheques as a quasi-transactional instrument — usable in commerce but theoretically redeemable through banking channels.
The 50,000 dollar face value, enormous by any pre-crisis measure, was already losing purchasing power faster than the notes could be distributed. By 2006, redenomination would make the entire series obsolete.