Published by the government of Zimbabwe
31 July 2008
Harare — DO you have coins somewhere in a tin or in your garage? Start searching for them, for they are suddenly worth a small fortune.
Out of the blue, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono has made some lucky individuals worth a little more than they thought they were worth.
The reintroduction of old coins has added some value to the pockets of people who have kept old currency for fun or as souvenirs.
Coins had become useless due to high inflation. Now, the $5 coin buried in the shell of your home-made bank (usually a corrugated empty Sun Jam canister) is worth just about your bus fare to town.
The central bank governor said yesterday he will revalue existing currency from tomorrow, and bring back into circulation the old $5, $2, $1, 50 cent, 20 cent and 10 cent coins.
According to the currency reforms, the current $10 billion will be worth $1, $50 billion, $5.
For some, keeping old currency notes or coins is a hobby. Others regard it a waste of time. Many preserve old currency for posterity.
But from tomorrow, good tidings will come to those that have waited. They will be a few dollars richer, yes, just from keeping old currency.
A snap survey carried out by The Herald yesterday revealed that people who had kept the old currency welcomed the move by Dr Gono.
"I have a bag of coins, so it means with effect from today I am better positioned to make transactions using my coins," said Mrs Getrude Mashinya of Glen View 3.
Tristar Insurance managing director Mr Nathan Chikono said Dr Gono had caught many people by surprise.
"We did not know that one day we will be using the old currency to transact in our business. The initiative will go a long way in easing cash shortages. I am also going to use the few coins that I have, which I thought were now useless," said Mr Chikono.
"It's like a dream come true, a prayer answered. I could not believe it when I heard the news," said a jovial Mrs Shorai Nyabvure of Glen View 1.
"With a whole drawer full of the old coins, it means for some time, I will have more buying power than others because by the time they get hold of the coins, probably their value would be less than what they are now."
Mr Elfas Torovei of Snake Park also welcomed the initiative.
"Dr Gono is an unpredictable man. From now onwards I will never throw away coins and notes which have lost value because I will rest assured that Dr Gono will one day bring them back into circulation," he said.
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