Question

1.Name 5 security features that are used in producing bank notes.
2. Discuss the history of paper money in south Africa. Give only 5 main facts or points.

Answer 1

1) Five common banknote security features
- Watermark — a subtle image embedded in the paper visible against light.
- Security thread — a metallic or plastic thread (sometimes windowed) running through the note.
- Intaglio / raised printing — tactile, engraved printing you can feel.
- Microprinting — extremely small printed text or patterns hard to reproduce.
- Optically variable / color‑shifting ink or holographic foil — inks/patches that change appearance with angle or light.

2) Five main points on the history of paper money in South Africa
- 19th century: Before a central authority, private and commercial banks in the Cape, Natal and other colonies issued their own banknotes.
- Union and centralisation: After the 1910 formation of the Union of South Africa, responsibility for currency was still fragmented until a central bank was created.
- South African Reserve Bank (SARB) founded in 1921: SARB was granted the sole right to issue legal tender banknotes for South Africa.
- Decimalisation and the rand (1961): The South African pound was replaced by the rand in 1961 (1 rand = 10 shillings, or 2 rand = 1 pound), coinciding with the republic era and new national imagery on notes.
- Modern era: Banknote designs have evolved with political change (from monarchs to national symbols and post‑apartheid imagery) and with progressively stronger security technologies (watermarks, threads, holograms, advanced inks and new series such as the wildlife-themed notes).