When did South Africa first introduce the rand?

South Africa first introduced the rand in 1961.

The rand replaced the South African pound on 14 February 1961, shortly before South Africa became a republic. The new currency was part of a decimalization program: one rand was worth 10 shillings, or half a South African pound, and was divided into 100 cents.

The rand’s name comes from the Witwatersrand, the gold-rich ridge associated with Johannesburg and South Africa’s historic gold-mining industry. The South African Reserve Bank issues the currency. Its ISO 4217 code is ZAR, derived from “Zuid-Afrikaanse rand,” the Dutch and Afrikaans form of South African rand.

The rand is legal tender in South Africa and is also used in the Common Monetary Area with Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini under different arrangements. It is not the same currency as the Botswana pula or the Zambian kwacha, although all are important southern African currencies.