What currency did South Africa introduce in 1961 to replace the South African pound?

South Africa introduced the rand in 1961 to replace the South African pound.

The rand was created as South Africa became a republic and adopted decimal currency. It was divided into 100 cents, and the conversion rate was two rand for one South African pound. The name came from the Witwatersrand, the gold-rich ridge associated with Johannesburg and South Africa’s mining history.

The South African Reserve Bank issues the rand. Its ISO currency code is ZAR, derived from the Dutch name Zuid-Afrikaanse rand. The rand is legal tender in South Africa and also circulates in the Common Monetary Area with Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini.

The rand is sometimes confused with the currencies of those neighboring countries, but each has its own national name and coinage.