3107) "Eswatini" (or the "Kingdom of Eswatini") also known by its former official name "Swaziland" i) About Eswatini: ii) Coins of Eswatini: iii) Banknotes of Eswatini:
I must put on record that while scrutinising my Adsense reports yesterday I came across a country visiting my blog called "Eswatini". Naturally I was quite intrigued and researched this "new" country located in Africa, as well as its currency.
Eswatini is a landlocked country in Southern Africa:
It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa. Despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
The population is composed primarily of ethnic Swazis. The prevalent language is Swazi ("siSwati" in native form). The Swazis established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III.
The country and the Swazi take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule the country was expanded and unified, its boundaries were drawn up in 1881 in the midst of the Scramble for Africa.
After the Second Boer War, the kingdom, under the name of Swaziland, was a British high commission territory from 1903 until it regained its full independence on 06.09.1968.
In April 2018, the official name was changed from "Kingdom of Swaziland" to "Kingdom of Eswatini", mirroring the name commonly used in Swazi.
Eswatini is a developing country and is classified as a lower-middle income economy.
As a member of the Southern African Customs Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, its main local trading partner is South Africa - to ensure economic stability, Eswatini's currency, the lilangeni, is pegged to the South African rand.
Eswatini's major overseas trading partners are the United States and the European Union.
The majority of the country's employment is provided by its agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
Eswatini is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations.
The government is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa, and has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986.
Elections are held every five years to determine the House of Assembly and the Senate majority.
Its constitution was adopted in 2005.
"Umhlanga", (the "Reed Dance") held in August/September, and "Incwala", the "Kingship Dance" held in December/January, are the nation's most important events.
Swazi Lilangeni:
The Lilangeni (plural: "Emalangeni"), is the currency of Eswatini and is subdivided into 100 cents.
It is issued by the Central Bank of Eswatini (in Swazi Umntsholi Wemaswati) and is authorised by the king and his family.
The South African Rand is also accepted in Eswatini.
The Lilangeni was introduced in 1974 at par with the South African rand through the Common Monetary Area, to which it remains tied at a one-to-one exchange rate.
The currency's name derives from "emaLangeni" ("People from the Sun"), a term used to describe the ancestors of the Swazi people who migrated to Swaziland in the 18th–19th centuries.
Coins:
In 1974, coins for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 Lilangeni were introduced, with the 1 and 2 cents struck in bronze and the others struck in cupro-nickel.
Except for the 1 lilangeni, the coins were not round, with the 1 and 50 cents dodecagonal, the 2 cents square with rounded corners and the 5, 10 and 20 cents scalloped.
The 2 cents was last struck in 1982, whilst, in 1986, round, copper-plated steel 1 cent and nickel-brass 1 lilangeni coins were introduced.
These were followed, in 1992, by nickel-plated-steel 5 and 10 cents and nickel-brass-plated-steel 1 lilangeni coins.
In 1995-, 2- and 5-emalangeni coins were introduced.
From 2009 to 2011 new coins were introduced in copper-plated steel (5c and 10c), nickel-plated steel (20c, and a 50c piece which was never released into circulation) and brass-plated steel (L1). These were similar sizes to the existing coins but lighter due to the changed metal composition.
In February 2016, a new series of coins dated 2015 was introduced and all previous coins were recalled and demonetised.
The new coins have similar designs to the previous coins, but with slightly different sizes and weights.
The 10c-50c are in nickel-plated steel and the L1-E5 are in aluminium-bronze.
1c-5c coins are no longer in use.
The nickel-brass L1 coin dated 1986 and brass coins dated 1995-2009 had the same dimensions and composition as the British £1 coins introduced in 1983, and thus have sometimes been used fraudulently in British vending machines with the value of L1 decreasing from £0.36 in 1986 to £0.05 in 2015, when those L1 coins were demonetised.
Banknotes:
On 06.09.1974, the Monetary Authority of Swaziland introduced Banknotes in the denomnations of 1, 2, 5, and 10 emalangeni, with 20 emalangeni notes following in 1978.
In 1981, the Central Bank of Swaziland took over paper money production, first issuing Banknotes commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of King Sobhuza II (King Sobhuza II - also known as Nikhotfotjeni, Mona (22.07.1899-21.08.1982) was the King of Swaziland for 82 years and 254 days, the longest reign of any monarch in recorded history.
Between 1982 and 1985, it introduced non-commemorative circulation Banknotes for E2, E5, E10, and E20.
In 1990, the 50 emalangeni notes were introduced.
The E2 and E5 notes were replaced by coins in 1995, whilst 100 and 200 emalangeni notes were introduced in 1996 and 1998, respectively, with the E200 notes commemorating the 30th anniversary of independence.
On 05.09.2008, the Central Bank of Swaziland issued 100-, and 200-emalangeni notes to commemorate the 40th birthday of King Mswati III and the 40th anniversary of independence.
On 06.09.2010, the Central Bank of Swaziland has issued a new series of banknotes with enhanced security features.
Banknotes of the Swazi lilangeni (06.09.10 issue):
On the 10 emalangeni Banknote are depicted King Mswati III Princesses at the Ncwala (kingship ceremony) and King Mswati III and electrotype 10.
On the 20 emalangeni Banknote, are depicted flower, corn, and pineapple, steer, refinery, and King Mswati III and electrotype 20.
On the 50 emalangeni Banknote is depicted the Central Bank of Swaziland building and King Mswati III and electrotype 50.
On the 100 emalangeni Banknote is depicted an elephant, rhinoceros, lion, flowers, and bird and King Mswati III and electrotype 100.
On the 200 emalangeni Banknote are depicted Swazi straw huts, goats, warrior, rock formation and King Mswati III and electrotype 200.
Eswatini (Swaziland):
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Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
For some other interesting posts on Currencies of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, please visit the following links:
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19) A new Generation $100 Polymer Banknote, Trinidad and Tobago with enhanced security features to "raise the bar" for counterfeiters & unscrupulous elements: Banknote circulation date: 09.12.2019:
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21) New Polymer Banknotes, Trinidad and Tobago: The entire series will consist of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 denominations: $100 has already been issued on 09.12.2019
23) "Caribbean Sea-Horse", Barbados: $10 (Ten Dollars) 1.0 Oz. Gold Bullion Coins & $1 (One Dollar) 1.0 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins minted by the Scottsdale Mint; Year of issue: 2020
24) Cayman Islands, A British Overseas Territory (BOT): A set of identically numbered Banknotes of the presently circulating Banknotes from the "D" Series of Banknotes
Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
26) A new 100 Boliviano Banknote from Bolivia: issued by the "Banco Centrale de Bolivia" (Central Bank of Bolivia) on 15.01.2019 under its new 2018 Banknote Series
27) Central Bank of Uruguay ("Banco Centrale del Uruguay"): 50th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) - 1967-2017 - celebrated with the issue of a 50 Peso Commemorative Banknote on 14.09.2018
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
Interesting Posts from Algeria:
Interesting posts from Sierra Leone:
Links to posts on Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
2) Currency & Coinage of Ghana: Cedis & Pesewas
6) Two new Cedi Banknotes of GH200 & GH100 and a GH2 Cedi Coin introduced in 11/2019
Links to other interesting posts on our Ghana visit in 2013:
1) Lake Bosumchwe or Bosumchwi, Ghana
2) El Mina Castle/Fort, Cape Coast, Ghana
3) History of Coinage and Banknotes of Ghana
6) Larabanga mosque and the Mystic Stone
7) Food, Culture and Music of Ghana
9) Oware: The Ancient National Board Game of Ghana
Interesting posts from Sierra Leone:
Links to posts on Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very detailed and informative post."
Thank you Trikha sahab.
DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing this interesting post."
Thank you so much Khanna sahab.
DeleteRaj Kumar Srivastava has commented:
ReplyDelete"ज्ञानवर्धक 💐"
Thank you so much, Raj.
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