INDEPENDENCE OF RHODESIA 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY MEDALLION IN IN SOUTH AFRICA

  1965 Rhodesian Independence Anniversary Gold Medallion In 1965, Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe) was a British colony which, fearful of black majority rule being imposed upon them by the British, made a unilateral declaration of independence under the leadership of Ian Smith, in an attempt to ensure that Rhodesia remained under white minority rule. This action was condemned by Britain and most of the rest of the world as illegal and refused to recognise the newly independent nation. This lack of official recognition and the constant pressure of black insurgents fighting for black majority rule eventually led to the collapse of Smith’s Rhodesia, with the Lancaster House Agreement signed in 1979 leading to the temporary re-establishment of British rule preceding the re-emergence of independence with black majority rule in 1980, whereupon the country was renamed ‘Zimbabwe’ It weighs 11.46 grams Obverse Ian Smith surrounded by legend:- RHODESIA 1965 Reverse Kariba Dam and legend:- INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY 1966