100 South African Rand Banknote (Nelson Mandela)

100 Rand (Issued 2012)

South Africa’s economy in the early 2010s was driven by a powerful combination of gold and platinum mining, agricultural exports, manufacturing, and a growing financial services sector, all of which depended upon a reliable and trusted circulating currency. The 100 Rand note represented a significant unit of everyday purchasing power, facilitating transactions across retail, trade, and commerce throughout the country’s eleven official language communities. Issued under the South African Reserve Bank’s 2005–2012 series, this denomination carried both economic weight and deep national symbolism. For anyone looking to exchange South African Rand in the UK, understanding the design and security features of this note is an important starting point.

On the front, the dominant feature is a finely engraved portrait of Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader and former President of South Africa, rendered in a detailed intaglio style that gives his likeness a pronounced tactile quality. His expression is warm and dignified, and the portrait occupies the right-centre of the note against a background of soft blue and green tones that transition into deeper purple and violet hues toward the left side. The words “SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK” are printed prominently in bold dark lettering across the top of the note, and to the upper left sits the South African coat of arms in a compact but detailed rendering. Beneath the coat of arms, a signature identified as that of the Governor, reading “Gill Marcus, Governor,” appears in cursive script. The large numeral “100” appears twice on the front — once in bold blue-green numerals in the lower left and again in deep green on the lower right — providing clear denomination identification. A vertical security strip is embedded near the left side of the portrait, running the full height of the note and appearing dark against the lighter background. To the upper right, the text “ONE HUNDRED RAND” is printed vertically in green lettering. The background features intricate guilloché patterning composed of fine geometric rosettes and latticework in pale blue and green, with a lightly printed landscape scene visible behind the portrait depicting what appears to be a wildlife and terrain vignette rendered in ghost-print watermark-style ink. The right edge of the note incorporates a band of diamond-shaped geometric ornament in deep green and teal, characteristic of the 2005–2012 South African Reserve Bank series.

The reverse of the note is dominated by a large, powerfully rendered engraving of an African buffalo — one of the famous “Big Five” game animals of sub-Saharan Africa — positioned centrally and filling much of the upper half of the composition. The buffalo is depicted in close-up, facing forward with its broad, curved horns sweeping outward prominently, and the engraving captures the animal’s heavy texture and musculature in fine intaglio detail against a background of blue, olive, and teal tones. The serial number “AC9834432D” appears in dark print in the upper right area of the note. The denomination numeral “100” is printed in large, bold blue-green figures in the lower centre of the reverse. Across the top of the reverse, the bank’s name is printed in Sepedi as “PANKA YA RESEFE YA AFRIKA BORWA,” and along the bottom the text reads “BANGINKULU YA AFRIKA-DZONGA,” reflecting two of South Africa’s official languages. The text “ONE HUNDRED RAND” appears vertically along the right margin in green lettering, consistent with the front. The background of the reverse carries the same guilloché geometric patterning and the diamond-motif decorative band visible on the right side, maintaining design continuity across both faces of the note.

Have a 100 Rand banknote you no longer need? Webuyallcurrency.com lets you sell foreign coins and banknotes for cash, taking your South African Rands banknotes and other leftover currency in one simple exchange.

• 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

Turn forgotten South African Rands banknotes into money: Webuyallcurrency.com lets you exchange foreign coins and notes — even withdrawn ones — as part of one clear transaction, no specialist knowledge required.

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