The first Zimbabwean dollar was established in 1980 and it replaced the Rhodesian dollar at par. The initial ISO 4217 code was ZWD. At the time in 1980 when it was introduced, the Zimbabwean dollar was more valued than the U.S. dollar, the value is 1 ZWD = USD 1.47. However, the currency's value eroded quickly over the years. On 26th July 2006, the equivalent market value of the Zimbabwean dollar opens to one million to the British pound.

Coins were introduced in stated values of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1 dollar in 1980. The 1 cent coin was minted in bronze, with others minted in cupro-nickel. In 1989, bronze-plated steel replaced bronze. In 1997 A 2 dollar coin was established. In 2001, nickel-plated steel changed cupro-nickel in the 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 dollar values, and a bimetallic 5 dollar coin were established. These coins remained in circulation but, due to their little value, they were used only in gatherings as betting tokens in Zimbabwean casinos.