New nation, Republic of South Sudan announced its new currency, South Sudanese Pound last week. According to information in Wikipedia the new banknote is subdivided into 100 piastres. It was approved by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly prior to secession on 9 July 2011 from Sudan. The banknotes feature the image of John Garang, the deceased leader of South Sudan's independence movement. Six different denominations (1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 pounds) in the form of banknotes have been confirmed, and four denominations (1, 5, 25 and 50 piastres) will be issued in the form of coins.
"Today, President Salva Kiir said in the council of ministers that it is the last day of exchanging the Sudanese pound into the South Sudan pound," Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told reporters in Juba.
"From tomorrow (Friday), the Sudanese Guinea (pound) is illegal tender. It will no longer be used to buy anything in the Republic of South Sudan," he added.
Separately, Khartoum announced that, from 1500 GMT on Thursday, the introduction of the new Sudanese pound note in the north was partly complete.
"As of this date, the old 10, 20 and 50 pound notes... will be unfit for circulation, while trading in the 1, 2, and 5 pound notes of the old category will continue... until further notice from the bank," the Central Bank of Sudan said in a statement.
After independence, southern officials were concerned that their country would be flooded with old Sudanese pounds, of which there were an estimated 2.1 billion already in circulation. Benjamin said 1.6 billion Sudanese pounds had been collected in South Sudan. The Sudanese pound, which is equal in value to the South Sudan pound, has seen its purchasing power plunge this year, mainly because of the surge in food prices and weak state finances. One US dollar can now buy up to 3.5 Sudanese pounds on the black market, compared with the official exchange rate of about 2.7 Sudanese pounds.
Source: Wikipedia, AFP.
A new country emerge and a new banknote come into circulation for us collector to collect.
