2019-08-08 Thu

Botswana, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, has a landscape defined by the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta, which becomes a lush animal habitat during the seasonal floods. The massive Central Kalahari Game Reserve, with its fossilized river valleys and undulating grasslands, is home to numerous animals including giraffes, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs.

The “pula” is the currency of Botswana and is subdivided into 100 thebe. The word Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana — home to much of the Kalahari Desert — and therefore valuable and a blessing. The word also serves as the national motto of the country. A sub-unit of the currency which is known as thebe, or "shield" represents defence.

Today we are discussing a 50 Pula banknote issued in 2005. The obverse depict sthe portrait of the First President Sir Seretse Khama to left; the country’s Coat of Arms depicting zebras to right top corner and a Malachite Kingfisher in centre. The reverse depicts Okavango Delta swamps in centre: with a man on a mokoro (small boat) and Water lilies to centre-left and an African Fish Eagle to right. This brown coloured note has rampant zebra and electrotype '50' as its watermark.

Image Courtesy: PicClick