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A tale of paper and gold: the material history money in South Africa

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  • Feingold, Ellen
  • Fourie, Johan
  • Gardner, Leigh

Abstract

This paper uses the South African objects in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian to tell a new material history of money in South Africa. In other parts of the continent, research about the currencies in use and how these changed over time have offered a new perspective on the impact of colonialism, commercialisation, and the rise of state capacity. South Africa, and southern Africa more generally, has remained on the periphery of these debates. This paper begins to fill this gap. It shows that even in Africa’s most financially developed region, the process of establishing a stable national currency was long and halting, reflecting struggles over South Africa’s relationship with the global economy and the rise and fall of apartheid.

Suggested Citation

  • Feingold, Ellen & Fourie, Johan & Gardner, Leigh, 2021. "A tale of paper and gold: the material history money in South Africa," Economic History Working Papers 108574, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:wpaper:108574
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Roy Havemann, 2014. "The Exchange Control System under Apartheid," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(2), pages 268-286, December.
    2. Feinstein,Charles H., 2005. "An Economic History of South Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521616416, January.
    3. Michael D. Bordo & Marc Flandreau, 2003. "Core, Periphery, Exchange Rate Regimes, and Globalization," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization in Historical Perspective, pages 417-472, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Johan Fourie & Jan Luiten Zanden, 2013. "GDP in the Dutch Cape Colony: The National Accounts of a Slave-Based Society," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 81(4), pages 467-490, December.
    5. Leigh A. Gardner, 2014. "The rise and fall of sterling in Liberia, 1847–1943," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 67(4), pages 1089-1112, November.
    6. Willem H. Boshoff (ed.), 2020. "Business Cycles and Structural Change in South Africa," Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development, Springer, number 978-3-030-35754-2.
    7. Ofonagoro, Walter I., 1979. "From Traditional to British Currency in Southern Nigeria: Analysis of a Currency Revolution, 1880–1948," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(3), pages 623-654, September.
    8. Eichengreen, Barry, 1996. "Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195101133.
    9. Feinstein,Charles H., 2005. "An Economic History of South Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521850919, January.
    10. W. H. Boshoff & J. Fourie, 2020. "The South African Economy in the Twentieth Century," Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development, in: Willem H. Boshoff (ed.), Business Cycles and Structural Change in South Africa, pages 49-70, Springer.
    11. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/622 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/622 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Johan Fourie, 2013. "The remarkable wealth of the Dutch Cape Colony: measurements from eighteenth-century probate inventories," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 66(2), pages 419-448, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Batiz-Lazo, Bernardo & Bautista-González, Manuel A & González-Correa, Ignacio, 2021. "La transformación en el uso de efectivo y pagos digitales durante la pandemia de Covid-19 [Thye transformation in the use of cash and digital payments during the Covid-19 pandemioc]," MPRA Paper 109943, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    South Africa; currency; colonialism; mineral; REF Impact Fund;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N47 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Africa; Oceania
    • N17 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Africa; Oceania

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