Botswana pula

The pula is the currency of Botswana. It has the ISO 4217 code BWP and is subdivided into 100 thebe. Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana—home to much of the Kalahari Desert— playing a major role in rites of traditional Tswana belief; therefore valuable and the word extends its meaning as "blessing" or "fortune". The word also serves as the national motto of the country.

A sub-unit of the currency is known as thebe, or "shield", (Memoirs of a former president of Botswana) and represents defence. The names were picked with the help of the public.

History

The pula was introduced on 23 August 1976, subsequently known as "Pula Day", replacing the rand at par. One hundred days after the pula was introduced, the rand ceased to be legal tender in Botswana.

At its introduction, the pula was pegged to the US dollar. In January 1979, the pula was changed to a floating, unpegged currency. Since June 1980, it has been pegged to a basket of currencies that reflects the country's trading patterns, comprising the South African rand and the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights.

Coins

In 1976, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 thebe. The 1 thebe was struck in aluminium, with the 5 thebe in bronze and the others in cupro-nickel. These coins were round except for the scalloped 1 pula. Bronze, dodecagonal 2 thebe coins were introduced in 1981 and discontinued after 1985. In 1991, bronze-plated steel replaced bronze in the 5 thebe, nickel-plated steel replaced cupro-nickel in the 10, 25 and 50 thebe and the 1 pula changed to a smaller, nickel-brass, equilateral-curve heptagonal coin. A similarly shaped, nickel-brass 2 pula was introduced in 1994. In 2004, the composition was changed to brass-plated steel and the size was slightly reduced.

Following the withdrawal of the 1 and 2 thebe in 1991 and 1998 respectively, smaller 5, 10, 25 and 50 thebe coins were introduced, with the 5 and 25 thebe coins being seven-sided and the 10 and 50 thebe coins remaining round. A bimetallic 5 pula depicting a mopane caterpillar and a branch of the mopane tree it feeds on was introduced in 2000 composed of a cupronickel centre in a ring made of aluminium-nickel-bronze.

A new series of coins was introduced in 2013. All previous coins were demonetized with effect from 28 August 2014, and remained exchangeable to current coins for 5 years until 28 August 2019.

The word "Ipelegeng" is found on the coins, which literally means "to carry your own weight" or "to be self-sufficient or independent" but in general has various different meanings in the Tswana language.

Botswana pula coins Image Value Composition Diameter Mass Thickness Edge Issued Demonetized 1 thebe Aluminium 18.5 mm 0.8 g 1.22 mm Smooth 1976–1991 1 July 2014 2 thebe Bronze 17.4 mm (dodecagonal) 1.8 g 1.05 mm1981–1985 5 thebe Bronze 19.5 mm 2.8 g 1.17 mm Reeded 1976–1989 Bronze-plated steel 1.28 mm Smooth or reeded 1991–1996 17 mm (heptagonal) 2.41 g 1.75 mm Smooth 1998–2009 Nickel-plated steel 18 mm (heptagonal) 2.218 g 1.3 mm 2013 current 10 thebe Copper-nickel 22 mm 4 g 1.33 mm Reeded 1976–1989 1 July 2014 Nickel-plated steel 3.8 g 1991 18 mm 2.8 g 1.75 mm 1998–2008 20 mm 1.4 mm 2013 current 25 thebe Copper-nickel 25 mm 5.8 g 1976–1989 1 July 2014 Nickel-plated steel 5.73 g 1991 20 mm (heptagonal) 3.5 g 1.8 mm Smooth 1998–2009 22 mm (heptagonal) 4.2 g 1.6 mm 2013 current 50 thebe Copper-nickel 28 mm 11.4 g 2.3 mm Reeded 1976–1985 1 July 2014 Nickel-plated steel 1991 21.3 mm 4.82 g 2.2 mm Smooth 1996–2001 24 mm 5.3 g 1.8 mm Reeded 2013 current 1 pula Copper-nickel 29.5 mm; scalloped (with 12 notches) 16.4 g Smooth 1976–1987 1 July 2014 Nickel-brass 24 mm (heptagonal) 8.8 g 2.7 mm Segmented (10 reeds per 7 sections) 1991–2007 Bronze-plated steel 26 mm 7.8 g Smooth 2013–2016 current 2 pula Nickel-brass 26.4 mm (heptagonal) 6.3 g 2.4 mm Segmented (19 reeds per 7 sections) 1994 1 July 2014 Brass-plated steel 24.6 mm (heptagonal) 6.02 g 2 mm 2004 Bi-metallic; bronze-plated steel in center, nickel-plated steel in ring 27 mm 7.3 g Reeded 2013–2016 current 5 pula Bi-metallic; copper-nickel in center, brass in ring 23.5 mm 6 g 2000–2007 1 July 2014 28 mm 8.7 g 2.2 mm Segmented2013–2016 current

Banknotes On 23 August 1976, the Bank of Botswana introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, and 10 pula; a 20 pula note followed on 16 February 1978. The 1 and 2 pula notes were replaced by coins in 1991 and 1994, whilst the first 50 and 100 pula notes were introduced on 29 May 1990 and 23 August 1993, respectively. The 5 pula note was replaced by a coin in 2000. The original 1, 2 and 5 pula banknotes were demonetized on 1 July 2011.

The current series of notes was introduced on 23 August 2009 and contains, for the first time, a 200 pula banknote.

In response to the concern of the poor quality of the paper of the 10 pula banknote, the Bank of Botswana unveiled a 10 pula banknote in polymer in November 2017 which was issued to the public on 1 February 2018.

In 2020, the Bank of Botswana issued a new 10 pula polymer banknote that features an image of the former President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi.10 Pula Numista (https://en.numista.com). Retrieved on 2021-09-19.

Current series (2009) Image Value Dimensions(mm) Substrate Maincolour Description Issuedfrom Obverse Reverse P 10 132 × 66 Paper Green Ian Khama National Assembly building 23 August 2009 Polymer 1 February 2018 Mokgweetsi Masisi 22 February 2021 P 20 138 × 69 Paper Red Kgalemang Tumediso Motsete Orapa diamond mine 23 August 2009 P 50 144 × 72 Brown Sir Seretse Khama Okavango delta P 100 150 × 75 Blue Sebele I; Bathoen I; Khama III Diamond mine and sorting P 200 156 × 78 Violet Woman teaching pupils Zebras

Use in Zimbabwe Due to hyperinflation in Zimbabwe from 2006 to 2008, the government of Zimbabwe has allowed circulation of foreign currency since 2008. The Zimbabwean dollar became obsolete on 12 April 2009. Several currencies, including the South African rand and Botswana pula, circulate in Zimbabwe,Alongside Zimbabwean dollar (suspended indefinitely from 12 April 2009), euro, US dollar, pound sterling, South African rand, Indian rupee, Australian dollar, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. The US dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions in Zimbabwe. along with the Zimbabwean bond notes and bond coins.

Lesotho The word pula also serves as part of the national motto of the Kingdom of Lesotho. As in Botswana, it means "rain" in the Sotho language and is considered a synonym for "blessing".

Botswana pula

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