Catalog
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| Issuer | West African Currency Board |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916-1918 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (1907-1968) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a palm tree enclosed within an ornate frame, flanked by scrollwork and guilloche underprint in brown tones. The denomination numeral "20" appears in large figures at left and right margins, with the issuer's name "WEST AFRICAN CURRENCY BOARD" arched across the upper centre. Date and place of issue appear below the central vignette, with the value "TWENTY SHILLINGS" in a cartouche at the foot of the design; serial numbers are printed in the upper corners. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BRITISH WEST AFRICA WEST AFRICAN CURRENCY BOARD PROMISE TO PAY ON DEMAND THE SUM OF TWENTY SHILLINGS |
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| Comments |
The West African Currency Board was established in 1912 to provide a unified currency across British West Africa — Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia — replacing the chaotic patchwork of local coinage and trade currencies. The one-pound note series, of which this is a part, was the first paper currency issued for the region under that unified system. Waterlow & Sons handled the printing, as they did for a substantial portion of Britain's colonial currency output during this period.
Wartime conditions between 1916 and 1918 affected both paper supply and shipping logistics for colonial currency consignments, making notes from this particular window scarcer than equivalent dates in the series.