Skip to content

Money makes the world go around Mystery Cache

Hidden : 3/25/2022
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:


Note: The Cache is not at the listed coordinates (obviously ;-)

 

A little puzzle around our South African currency.
Read the text below to answer (most of) the questions. Some further knowledge or research may be required...

Read the questions carefully- the devil is in the detail!

Check if your answers are correct with the geochecker below!

 

The name "Rand" 

The rand takes its name from the Witwatersrand ("white waters' ridge" in English, rand being the Dutch and Afrikaans word for 'ridge'), the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found.

History Of South African Currency

Historically multiple currencies were in circulation in South Africa considering that the country was a trading center. The Guilder was the first official currency of the country. The Rixdollar then came into circulation in the late 17th century and this was also the first SA currency that included paper notes.

In the year 1826, the Sterling currency started to circulate in the country. This was also the time of the British occupation. This was along with some other currencies like the French francs, US dollars, Spanish dollars, and the Indian Rupees.

Only later, in the year 1921, the Reserve Bank of South Africa got established as the country’s Central Bank, issuing our coins and bank notes. In the year 1961, three months before the country declared itself a republic, the South African Rand was introduced in the Union of South Africa. 1GBP could be purchased for 2 ZAR at that time.
Today the South African rand is also legal tender in the Common Monetary Area member states of Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland / Eswatini.


The Krugerrand

The Krugerrand is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint. The name is a compound of Paul Kruger, the former President of the South African Republic (depicted on the obverse), and rand, the South African unit of currency. On the reverse side of the Krugerrand is a pronking springbok, South Africa's national animal. 

By 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for more than 90% of the global gold coin market and was the number one choice for investors buying gold. However, during the 1980s and 1990s, Krugerrands fell out of favor as some western countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of its association with the apartheid government of South Africa.

Although gold Krugerrand coins have no face value, they are considered legal tender in South Africa by the South African Reserve Bank Act (SARBA) of 1989.

In 2017, the Rand Refinery began minting silver versions, which have the same overall design as the gold coin


Our currency today

The banknotes we have today were redesigned in 1990 to show the images of the Big Five wildlife species. The obverses of all denominations were printed in English, while the issuing institution is printed in two other official languages on each reverse, thus making use of all eleven official languages of South Africa.
On their obverse, the current banknotes bear Nelson Mandela's image since 2012.

On May 3, 2023 the SA Reserve Bank together with the Nelson Mandela Foundation unveiled new coins and bank notes that have now become legal tender, with additional security features including the national flag on front and back, the premble tothe Constitution printed in micro-text  around Mandela’s portrait and the big five game now depicted in family groups on the reverse.

The denominations are:

Denomination Colour Front Back Languages on reverse
(in addition to English on obverse)
10 Rand Green Nelson Mandela Rhinoceros Afrikaans, Swati
20 Rand Brown Nelson Mandela Elephants Ndebele, Tswana
50 Rand Red Nelson Mandela Lions Venda, Xhosa
100 Rand Blue Nelson Mandela Cape Buffalos Northern Sotho, Tsonga
200 Rand Orange Nelson Mandela Leopards Sotho, Zulu

 

In 2018, a special commemorative series of banknotes was released in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth. This series includes notes of all denominations, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-rand. These notes circulate alongside the existing notes.The notes depict the standard face of Nelson Mandela on the front, but instead of the Big Five animals on the reverse, they show a younger Mandela with different iconic scenes relating to his legacy.

Since Nelson Mandela is such a revered personality in South Africa, a closer look at these beautiful works of art is warranted.
Thes scenes depicting him in memorable locations comprise:



- the rolling hills of the Eastern Cape, featuring Mandela's humble birthplace of Mvezo  
 


- the home of Mandela in Soweto, where he defined his political life alongside other struggle icons
 


- the site where Mandela was captured near Howick, following 17 months in hiding, where a monument to him has been erected
 


- the place of Mandela's 27-year imprisonment at Robben Island, showing a pile of quarried limestone 
 


- the statue of Mandela at the Union Buildings in Pretoria in remembrance of when he was inaugurated there in 1994 

(credits: Wikipedia)
 

*****************************************************

Questions:

A
All banknotes have a alpha-numeric code on the reverse. Notes of the same denomination all end with the same letter. 
For the R50 notes this letter is which number in the alphabet? 

B
Excluding the Krugerrand, how many coin denominations are in circulation and accepted as legal tender today?  
(Careful! There are more coins still legal tender than being actively coined today...! Don't forget the small ones...)

C
How many official languages spell out "South African Reserve Bank" on the reverse of the bank notes in total?
Add up the values of those digits for your "C" coordinate. 

D
In 1961, when the Rand was introduced, how many British Pounds would you have received in exchange for 12 Rands? 

E
In how many countries is the South African Rand used as legal tender? 

F
The language most commonly spoken as a first language in South Africa is depicted on the reverse of which banknote?
Add the value of the digits for coordinate F. 

 

The cache is located at:

S 34 02.1(A+4)(B-1)  E 023 0C.DEF

 

Money makes the world go around

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Abg nyy ebpxf ner rdhny… Gur bjaref xabj nobhg gur pnpur. Ab fgrnygu arrqrq jvgu thrfgf be fgnss.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)