Postal Orders of Rhodesia facts for kids
Postal orders of Rhodesia were special papers that people used to send money through the mail. They were a safe way to send cash before digital payments were common. Rhodesia started issuing its own postal orders sometime after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). This was when Rhodesia declared itself an independent country in 1965, which was a big political event at the time.
Contents
Early Postal Orders: Before Decimal Money
The first postal orders in Rhodesia were for amounts in "shillings," which was part of the old British money system. This system used pounds, shillings, and pence. For example, we know that a 5 Shillings postal order was issued in Norton in 1967. This shows that Rhodesia was creating its own financial documents even during this period of change.
Changing Money: Dual-Currency Postal Orders
Rhodesia prepared to switch to a new money system called "decimal currency." This new system, like the dollars and cents we use today, is based on units of ten. The change happened on 17 February 1970. To make the change easier, Rhodesia issued "dual-currency" postal orders. These could be used for both the old shillings and the new decimal amounts. These special postal orders continued to be used even after Prime Minister Ian Smith declared Rhodesia a republic on 2 March 1970.
New Money: Decimal Currency Postal Orders
Once most of the dual-currency postal orders were used up, Rhodesia began issuing postal orders only in the new decimal currency. We don't know exactly when these started to be issued. The very last day these postal orders were issued was 17 April 1980. Postal order collectors really like the ones issued between 12 December 1979 and 17 April 1980 because they are quite rare.
Leftover Postal Orders: Remainder Issues
After 17 April 1980, Rhodesia's postal orders were replaced by the postal orders of Zimbabwe. However, some "remainder issues" of the old Rhodesian postal orders, including some dual-currency ones, were still used. These were issued as late as 1982. It's not known when these leftover postal orders were completely used up and replaced by Zimbabwe's new ones.
See also
- Postal Orders of Zimbabwe
