Rwizikuran shilling
| Nhovodiki yeRwizikuru | |
|---|---|
| File:Rwizikurubanknote1.png 20000ſ banknote | |
| ISO 4217 | |
| Unit | |
| Plural | manhovodiki |
| Symbol | ſ |
| Nickname | mari |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | zana |
| Plural | |
| zana | muzana |
| Symbol | |
| zana | d |
| Nickname | |
| zana | marara |
| Banknotes | |
| Freq. used | 20000ſ, 50000ſ, 100000ſ, 200000ſ, 500000ſ |
| Rarely used | 1000000ſ |
| Coins | |
| Freq. used | 1000ſ, 2000ſ, 5000ſ, 10000ſ |
| Rarely used | 1d, 5d, 10d, 20d, 50d, 1ſ, 2ſ, 5ſ, 10ſ, 20ſ, 50ſ, 100ſ, 250ſ, 500ſ |
| Demographics | |
| Date of introduction | 1946 |
| User(s) | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Central Bank of Rwizikuru |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 12.3% |
| Source | 2019 |
The Rwizikuran nhovodiki is the currency of Rwizikuru since its independence in 1946 from Estmere. At independence having a value at par with the Estmerian shilling, its value has fallen to the point where as of 2019, the exchange rate is around 12,500 manhovodiki to 1 euclo.
History
The nhovodiki was introduced the replace the Riziland shilling, which was pegged at par with the Estmerian shilling on July 1, 1946, the day prior to Rwizikuru's independence from Estmerian rule. For the remainder of 1946, the two currencies circulated side by side, before the Riziland shilling was demonetized.
The name was chosen by the first governor of the Central Bank of Rwizikuru, James Ndlovu, who coined the term from the weRwizi phrase for "little shields," as a direct etymological translation for shilling, and to express the hope that "the value shall protect our nation from strife and harm."
Over decades, inflation rapidly eroded at the value of the nhovodiki, with production of muzana coins ceasing by 1960, and of all banknotes below 100ſ by 1964. In 1966, the expulsion of Mufedha in an attempt by Mambo Izibongo Ngonidzashe to "eliminate bourgeois influence" by confiscating their wealth and their lands, and to expel them from Rwizikuru helped result in stagflation between 1966 and 1981, as many Rwizikurans lost their jobs, economic growth ground a halt, and inflation continued. By 1975, production of all notes below 20,000ſ were halted, with coins taking their place.
Inflation peaked at 150% in 1979, but after the death of Izibongo Ngonidzashe, and the accession of his son, Kupakwashe Ngonidzashe, fiscal policies were changed to manage inflation, and economic policies that permitted more free enterprise than under his father helped reduce the rate of inflation.