Rwandan franc

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Rwandan franc
Franc Rwandais (French)
Ifaranga ry'u Rwanda (Kinyarwanda)
252px
Current banknotes of the Rwandan franc
ISO 4217 code RWF
Central bank National Bank of Rwanda
 Website www.bnr.rw
User(s)  Rwanda
Inflation 15.4%
 Source The World Factbook, 2008 est.
Subunit
 1/100 centime
Symbol FRw, RF, R₣
Coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 [1]francs
Banknotes 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 francs

The Rwandan franc[2] (sign: FRw,[3] and possibly RF[4] or R₣;[5] ISO 4217: RWF) is the currency of Rwanda. It is subdivided into 100 centimes.[2]

History

The franc became the currency of Rwanda in 1916, when Belgium occupied the previously German colony and the Belgian Congo franc replaced the German East African rupie. Rwanda used the currency of Belgian Congo until 1960, when the Rwanda and Burundi franc was introduced. Rwanda began issuing its own francs in 1964.

A proposal exists to introduce a common currency, a new East African shilling, for the five member states of the East African Community. While originally scheduled to occur by the end of 2012,[6] current proposals are for an introduction in 2015.

Coins

In 1964, coins were introduced for 1, 5 and 10 francs, with the 1 and 10 francs in cupronickel and the 5 francs in bronze. In 1969, aluminium 1 franc coins were introduced, followed in 1970 by ½ and 2 francs also in aluminium. A reduced sized copper-nickel 10 franc coin was issued in 1974.

Current Rwandan franc coins in circulation.

Brass 20 and 50 francs were introduced in 1977. New series of 1-50 Francs coins were issued in 2004 (dated 2003) and a new bimetallic coin of 100 Francs was introduced in 2008 (dated 2007)

  • 1 franc - 98% Aluminium, 2% Magnesium
  • 5 francs - Bronze
  • 10 francs - Bronze
  • 20 francs - Nickel-plated steel
  • 50 francs - Nickel-plated steel
  • 100 francs - Nickel-plated steel ring and Copper-plated steel centre

Banknotes

In 1964, provisional notes were created for use in Rwanda by handstamping (20 to 100 francs) or embossing (500 and 1,000 francs) Rwanda-Burundi notes bearing their original dates and signatures.[7] These were followed by regular issues for the same amounts dated 1964 to 1976.

20- and 50-franc notes were replaced by coins in 1977, with 5,000-franc notes introduced in 1978. The nation's first-ever 2,000-franc note was introduced in mid-December 2007. In 2008 the bank replaced the 100-franc note with a bimetallic coin, and revoked the notes’ legal tender status on 31 December 2009. On September 24, 2013, the National Bank of Rwanda issued a redesigned 500 franc note depicting cows on the front and students with XO computers (from One Laptop per Child) on the back.[8] In December 2014, the National Bank of Rwanda issued 2,000 and 5,000 franc notes with revised security features and the removal of French descriptions on the notes.[9]In October 2015, the National Bank of Rwanda issued a revised 1000 franc note with improved security features and the removal of French descriptions on the notes.[10]

Banknotes of the Rwandan franc (Current issue)[11]
Image Value Obverse Reverse
[1] 500 francs (Amafaranga Magana Atanu) Kids studying with XO computers Cows
[2] 1000 francs (Amafaranga Igihumbi) National Museum of Rwanda, Butare Golden monkey, Volcanoes national park
[3] 2000 francs (Amafaranga Ibihumbi Bibiri) Satellite dish and a radio tower Coffee beans
[4] 5000 francs (Amafaranga Ibihumbi Bitanu) Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park Baskets

Historical exchange rates

Rwandan francs per US dollar:[5]

  • 262.20 (1995)
  • 393.44 (2000)
  • 610 (2005)
  • 570 (2010)
  • 689 (2014)
  • 729.53 (2015)[12]
Current RWF exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From XE: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From fxtop.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From Currency.Wiki: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

See also

References

  1. ↑ Worldcoinnews.blogspot.com. "Rwandan francs."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Bank of Rwanda. "Legal tender." Accessed 2011-02-25.
  3. ↑ National Bank of Rwanda. "Currency characteristics." Accessed 2011-02-25.
  4. ↑ University of British Columbia: Saunders School of Business. "Currencies of the World." Accessed 2011-02-25.
  5. ↑ Lonely Planet. "Rwanda." Accessed 2011-02-25.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Rwanda new 500-franc note confirmed BanknoteNews.com. September 26, 2013. Retrieved on 2015-01-07.
  9. ↑ Rwanda new 2,000- and 5,000-franc notes confirmed BanknoteNews.com. January 6, 2015. Retrieved on 2015-01-07.
  10. ↑ Rwanda new 1,000-franc note (B140) confirmed BanknoteNews.com. November 15, 2015. Retrieved on 2015-11-15.
  11. ↑ 2009 series
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

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