This lesson explores how currencies are used in different economies, with a focus on South Africa and how the Mineral Revolution in South Africa affected its economies and currencies.

*This lesson was developed and created by a South African History graduate (Amy Rommelspacher, amyrom@sun.ac.za), as part of a collaboration between Stellenbosch University, the London School of Economics and the Smithsonian with a goal of creating lesson plans for South African students using objects from the National Numismatic Collection. There are four lessons in total.

Find the next lessons here:

South African lesson 3: The Great Depression, the gold standard and South Africa

South African lesson 4: Bretton Woods, national currencies and South Africa's new money