Rhodesia 6D 5c 1964 nickle

I've had this nickle for months now not knowing what to do with it. I am only interested in US coins. Yeah, I know, very short sighted of me. Anyway, I read a little about Rhodesia and its civil war and the politics.
I know that in 1964 the new Zimbabwe government had its coins minted without Queen Elizabeth II on them. So does this make this nickle the last of the queen coins? And also does this mean there were two different cents, and nickles? Anyone who desires this coin can have it free if it is no significant value. Any further history lesson would also be appreciated.
zeke

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

From Wikipedia:

In 1964, a series of coins was struck for the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia at the South African Mint in Pretoria. They consisted of

* sixpence (6D) bearing a flame lily design on the reverse
* shilling (1/-) bearing the Rhodesian shield on the reverse
* florin (2/-) bearing the Zimbabwe Bird on the reverse
* half crown (2/6) bearing a Sable Antelope on the reverse

These coins are interesting in two respects. First, Rhodesia was the first of two countries to utilise Arnold Machin's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on pre-decimal coinage (the other country was The Gambia). Secondly, the coins were dual-denominated (with 5c, 10c, 20c and 25c). This was not only to familiarise the public with the decimal system, but also to allow the coins to remain legal tender after the forthcoming change over to decimal currency.

All coins had the title of Queen Elizabeth II in English, rather than in Latin, as had been the case on the coins of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and Southern Rhodesia.

 

I bought two 1964 Rhodesia proof sets from that country by mail order:

 

If you are giving it away I will take it I don't currently have any coins from Rhodesia in my collection,

 

Hello Zekeguzz,

I also collect US coins but I find coins of the world are very affordable, beautiful, & packed full of history, geography, politics, and economics. Here is a 1936 coin from Southern Rhodesia. I hope that it posts OK. IMO It is really neat. It is from SOUTHERN Rhodesia and before the decimal coinage.

Very best regards,
collect89

 

Many folks in the US have no clue what a Shilling is. If someone only collects US decimal coins, then they might not be familiar with this little bit of mathematic trivia. In case anyone is interested- the shilling system is base 12 and the decimal system is base 10. The shilling 12 penny system is evenly divisible by 12, 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1. The decimal 10 cent system is only divisible evenly by 10, 5, 2, and 1. That is why the base 12 system was used for so many years by so many countries. You could have a half Shilling or a third Shilling or a quarter Shilling or a 6th of a Shilling or a 12th of a Shilling (which is a penny).

 

GOOSSEN I read and read that in wikipedia too. From what I interpolated and I am probably wrong is that there were two sets of 1964 coins. One minted with Queen Elizabeth the second. Then the set of coins having the Rhodesian coat of arms instead of QE2 on the obverse. Am I confused or did this ocurr after 1964?? Thanks for your info and great post.

 

Willboyd2, that's a really nice set of Rhodesian proofs. I assume QE2 is on the obverse, correct??

 

Collect89, I didn't know that the shilling was a base 12 system. I learn something new every day. Thanks.
Do you know what the 'D' stands for on the nickel I posted. I couldn't find anything on it.

 

Billy Kingsley, is there any value to this 1964 Rhodesian nickel? Is it made with silver and how collectable is it? Otherwise you've got it. Just PM me. So I need more info.

 

The 'D' is the symbol for the British penny, and is short for Denarius. The Roman Denarius was a small silver coin that eventually evolved into the British penny, and the letter 'D' stuck.

Your coin is copper-nickel and has a value of less than $1.

 

TheBigH thank you. That is just what I wanted to know. zeke

 

Rhodesia pre-decimal coins (1964-1968) were all minted with Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. Decimal coins (1970-1977) had the arms and no Queen.

 

Hello again Zekeguss,
I just read through this thread & it is really amazing how much can be learned from that little coin valued below $1. That little coin really was packed full of history, geography, politics, and economics. (I think I said that before). When you have another world coin of interest, please post it.
Very best regards,
collect89

 

This is off-topic, but if anyone is interested, the dollar sign ($) evolved from the symbol for pesos (Ps), because so many of the coins used in early America were of Mexican origin.

 

Yes I picked up alot on the Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa
history. Very interesting. Thanks eveyone. I've got this one locked in my memory bank. zeke:thumb:

 

I visited Rhodesia in 1971 but was not into coins then,
otherwise I would have looked around for some old coins from
the British colonial era.

 

Willyboyd2, oh if you only knew, right?

 

Here is a decent example of Southern Rhodesian coinage 1949: