The ZiG - short for Zimbabwe Gold - will replace the Zimbabwean dollar, which has tumbled in value over the past year driving up inflation, Reserve Bank governor John Mushayavanhu said.
"With effect from today... banks shall convert the current Zimbabwe dollar balances into the new currency," he said, presenting a monetary policy statement.
The ZiG would be "fully anchored and fully backed" by a basket of reserves comprising foreign currency and precious metals - mainly gold, he added.
The move aimed at fostering "simplicity, certainty, (and) predictability" in Zimbabwe's financial affairs, he added, presenting the new banknotes that will come in seven denominations ranging from 1 to 200 ZiG.
The Zimbabwean dollar has lost almost 100 percent of its value against the US greenback in the past year. On Friday, it was officially trading at around 30,000 against its more coveted US counterpart - and at 40,000 on the black market, according to tracker Zim Price Check.
This contributed to the southern African country's high inflation rate, which after climbing well into the triple digits last year, was at 55 percent in March according to official data.