Relics of Rhodes

As the brutal civil war drags on in Rhodesia, lavish farms and country homes can be snapped up for a fraction of their real value. But while the price of these relics of colonial times has plummeted, Rhodesia has experienced a modest boom in memorabilia, as whites wax nostalgic over their country's past. Coins and stamps commemorating Rhodesia's 1965 unilateral declaration of independence from Britain have skyrocketed in value. A set of three coins minted on the first anniversary of independence, originally worth $17, is now selling for $1,400 in Rhodesia. A one-shilling, threepence stamp bearing the portrait of Winston Churchill fetches $230 in Salisbury because it is overprinted with the date of Rhodesia's independence and a price increase to five shillings.

Artworks depicting scenes of Rhodesian history, both glorious and inglorious, are also experiencing a boom. In Salisbury a package of eight reproductions of sketches showing the discovery of Victoria Falls by David Livingstone currently sells for $32. "They'll fetch thousands in years to come," predicted one optimistic Rhodesian dealer. At an exhibition in

Salisbury last July, Artist Ivan Day-Jones sold out all his paintings of scenes of the brutal racial warfare that has savaged Rhodesia in the past decade. The boom is so great that a number of rare items have been stolen from Salisbury's Queen Victoria Memorial Library. One current bestseller: The Valiant Years, a collection of newspaper stories and headlines from 1890 to the present.

The brisk traffic in mementos is even beginning to spread to other countries, as white Rhodesians emigrate abroad at the rate of 1,000 a month. Currently one of the hottest items on the memorabilia market harks back to Cecil Rhodes' colonization in 1889 of the country that bears his name. This is the green-and-white Rhodesian flag, which bears the Rhodes family arms (lion passant between two thistles). A 6-ft. by 3-ft. Rhodesian flag that retails for $18 in Salisbury now costs up to $350 in the U.S.

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