The rand is the official currency of South Africa (symbol: R, ISO code: ZAR). It was created on February 14, 1961, upon the withdrawal of the Commonwealth and the founding of the Republic of South Africa, to replace the South African pound. Within the framework of the Common Monetary Area, the rand is also used in Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia, which respectively use the lilangeni, the loti and the Namibian dolar, at par. 

In 1961, the South African pound was replaced by the rand, a new currency, which adopted the decimal system (1 rand = 100 cents). The exchange value is 2 rand for 1 pound. At the exchange rate, the rand was then worth 1.40 American dollars, which placed this currency in the basket of strong currencies of that time. This exchange value was maintained until 1971.