This was possibly for compatibility with the South African rand, which retained a fixed 2:1 parity with the Rhodesian pound until 1967.

After UDI, the British government expelled Rhodesia from the sterling zone and the supply of banknotes dried up.

This very soon had an adverse effect in Rhodesia, and the shortage of new notes and the condition of those in circulation began to become a pressing concern.

In early 1966, the Reserve Bank of Rhodesia ordered a completely new series of Rhodesian banknotes from the German printers Giesecke & Devrient in Munich.

[2] A court injunction prevented the banknotes from being despatched to Rhodesia, and the entire order was destroyed by the printers.