Before the Bank was established an assortment of banknotes were in circulation in South Africa which were issued in terms of the laws of the various provinces. With the formation of the Reserve Bank, it obtained the sole right to issue banknotes in South Africa. The Bank’s first notes were issued to the public in April 1922.
At the end of that year the banknotes in circulation amounted to R20 million. At the end of February 2000 the notes and coin in circulation totalled R27,4 billion. The Reserve Bank’s size and operations were at first hampered by various statutory restrictions on its lending and investing.