Rhodesia 2-SHILLINGS (KM3)¶
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Reverse: ZIMBABWE BIRD
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Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II
- Composition
- Copper-nickel
- Country
- Zimbabwe
- Approx. Size
- 28.8mm
- Area
- Africa
- Animal Class
- Birds
- Species
- Zimbabwe Bird
- KM#
- 3
The Zimbabwe Bird appears on coins, banknotes, crests, etc. It comes from stone carvings on walls and monoliths throughout the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, an ancient city built starting around 400 CE up to the fifteenth century. These massive ruins cover over seven square kilometres and are the largest ancient stone ruins south of the Sahara.
The country was called Southern Rhodesia starting in 1901, Rhodesia in 1964, Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, then the Republic of Zimbabwe in 1980.
This coin was issued one year only.
Zimbabwe¶
- Area
- Africa
Zimbabwe is a land-locked country in south-eastern Africa. Zimbabwe contains numerous paleolithic sites, as well as the ruins of a famous gold-trading centre that peaked in the 14-15th century. Zimbabwe used to be Southern Rhodesia, named after Cecil Rhodes of the British South Africa Company.Mr. Rhodes controlled and developed the area from the late ninteenth century until 1923 when Britain joined Southern Rhodesia with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1963, Northern Rhodesia became Zambia and Nyasaland became Malawi. Meanwhile, Southern Rhodesia didn't achieve independence because the white people in control refused to play properly with the black people who were there first. Political games followed for five years. In 1970 the area became the Republic of Rhodesia. By 1978 everyone seemed to be getting along, and the black majority had the majority say in the government. By 1980, Zimbabwe was born as an independent member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
