1000 Pounds

Ghana's first banknote series, issued at independence in 1957–58, replaced the West African Currency Board notes that had circulated across British West Africa as a shared colonial currency. The 1000 Pounds was the highest denomination in that inaugural series — an unusual ceiling for a newly independent economy, and one that was never intended for retail use. These were interbank and government instruments from the start.

De La Rue's work on this series is technically accomplished, though the notes were superseded quickly: Ghana decimalized and switched to the cedi in 1965, making the entire pounds series short-lived. High-denomination survivors are rare simply because so few were printed.