100 South African Rand Banknote (Buffalo Type 2005)

100 Rand (Issued 2005)

The 100 Rand note from the South African Reserve Bank’s 1992–1999 series continued in circulation well into the 2000s before being superseded by the Mandela portrait series introduced from 2012 onwards, which replaced the wildlife-themed designs across all denominations. South Africa’s transition to a new banknote family was driven by the desire to honour Nelson Mandela and to incorporate more advanced security technology into the currency. Notes of this 1992–1999 design type, including this 2005-dated example, were progressively withdrawn from circulation as the newer series entered general use. Holders of these notes seeking to convert them to sterling should note that legacy Rand denominations can still be exchanged through specialist UK currency services.

On the front, the dominant design feature is a large, highly detailed engraving of a Cape buffalo — one of Africa’s famous “Big Five” — occupying the entire right-hand portion of the note, rendered in deep blue-purple and grey tones with exceptional tonal depth that conveys the animal’s powerful musculature and the coarse texture of its hide. The buffalo’s head is turned towards the viewer, its broad curved horns sweeping across the upper right of the design, and behind it a secondary vignette in the upper centre depicts a herd of buffalo grazing in open savannah, printed in muted grey-brown tones. The issuing authority’s name, “SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK,” runs in bold red lettering across the top of the note, flanked at the upper left by the South African coat of arms printed in red. The denomination numeral “100” appears prominently at the upper left in dark print, and again in large burnt orange and brown numerals at the lower right corner. The vertical text “ONE HUNDRED RAND” is printed along the right-hand edge. The lower left quadrant of the note features a complex guilloché rosette pattern in green and orange tones, overlaid with a dark hexagonal geometric security element in deep purple, and a further geometric diamond-shaped motif in orange-brown. A colour-shifting or colour-tinted denomination marker in purple and pink, reading “100,” appears to the left of the hexagonal pattern. The Governor’s signature appears at the lower left, attributed to T. Mboweni, with the title “Governor” printed beneath. The background across the note incorporates fine multicoloured guilloché security printing in pale green, orange, and cream tones, providing a layered anti-counterfeiting substrate.

The reverse of the note is dominated by a sweeping landscape vignette in the central and lower registers, depicting a rocky hillside with bare trees in the foreground and plains zebras visible among the scrub, rendered in detailed intaglio-style engraving in blue, grey, and purple tones. Mountain ridges recede into the background behind the treeline, and the overall palette of the reverse shifts across lavender, pale blue, orange, and cream. The large denomination numeral “100” sits centrally in the lower half of the design in dark blue-grey, and the serial number “B08591962D” is printed twice — once in red along the left vertical edge and once in black in the upper right area. Two large interlocking guilloché rosette medallions dominate the upper section, one rendered in orange and the other in green-blue, both featuring extraordinarily fine concentric spiral linework. A scattering of small yellow security dots is visible to the right of the serial number. The issuing bank’s name appears in two of South Africa’s official languages: “Panka ya Resefe ya Afrika Borwa” in the Sepedi language runs along the top, and “Banginkulu ya Afrika-Dzonga” in Xitsonga runs along the bottom. The vertical text “ONE HUNDRED RAND” appears along the right-hand edge, and a small circular denomination motif is visible at the lower right. The note’s serial prefix and suffix confirm it as a standard circulation example from the 2005 print run.

Whether it is a single 100 Rand banknote or a mix of leftover currency, Webuyallcurrency.com exchanges South African Rands banknotes and other foreign coins and notes for cash in one straightforward process.

• Indicate the quantity of 100 Rand Rand banknotes you want to exchange
• Click the ‘Add to your account’ button
• Your online account now shows the exchange value

Whether you want to sell foreign coins and notes or exchange leftover currency from past trips, Webuyallcurrency.com accepts South African Rands banknotes alongside modern money and settles everything in a single, easy transaction.

Other South African Rands you can exchange: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 200.