The pound was the currency of British West Africa, a group of British colonies, protectorates and mandate territories. It was equal to the pound sterling and was similarly subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The currency is obsolete.
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History
The West African pound was introduced in 1907 for circulation in Nigeria, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra Leone and the Gambia. From 1912, it was issued by the West African Currency Board. Liberia also adopted the currency in 1907, replacing the Liberian dollar, despite the fact it was not served by the West African Currency Board. Liberia changed to the U.S. dollar in 1943. The British sections of Togo and Cameroon adopted the West African currency in 1914 and 1916 respectively after being taken from Germany.
During the period 1958 to 1968, the West African pound was replaced by local currencies in the newly independent nations. The replacements were:
| Country | Date | New Currency |
Conversion Rate From BWA pound |
| Ghana | 1958 | Ghanaian pound | 1 |
| Nigeria | 1958 | Nigerian pound | 1 |
| British Cameroon | 1961 | CFA franc | 700 |
| Sierra Leone | 1964 | Leone | 2 |
| Gambia | 1968 | Gambian pound | 1 |
Coins
In 1907, aluminium 1⁄10 penny and cupro-nickel 1 penny coins were introduced. Both coins were holed. In 1908, cupro-nickel replaced aluminium in the 1⁄10 penny and, in 1911, holed, cupro-nickel ½ penny coins were introduced. In 1913, silver 3 and 6 pence, 1 and 2 shillings were introduced. In 1920, brass replaced silver in these denominations.
In 1938, larger, cupro-nickel 3 pence coins were introduced, with nickel-brass replacing brass in the higher denominations. In 1952, bronze replaced cupro-nickel in the 1⁄10, ½ and 1 penny coins. The last coins of British West Africa (pennies) were struck in 1958.
Banknotes
In 1916, the West African Currency Board introduced notes for 2, 10 and 20 shillings, followed by 1 shilling notes in 1918. Only the 10 and 20 shillings notes were issued after 1918, until 100 shillings (5 pounds) notes were introduced in 1953. The last notes (20 shillings) were produced in 1962.
See also
References
- Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801-1991 (18th ed. ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
- Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed. ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
External links
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- This page was last modified on 19 October 2008, at 05:03.
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