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, commercialization, 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.

摘要

本文利用史密森尼国家钱币收藏中的南非物件，讲述了南非货币的新物质历史。在非洲大陆的其他地方，关于使用的货币以及这些货币如何随时间变化的研究为殖民主义、商业化和国家能力提升的影响提供了新的视角。南非，以及更普遍的南部非洲，一直处于这些辩论的边缘。本文开始填补这一空白。它表明，即使在非洲金融最发达的地区，建立稳定的国家货币的过程也是漫长而停滞的，反映出南非与全球经济关系的斗争以及种族隔离的兴衰。