5 Nakfa

Eritrea's first national currency was introduced on 8 November 1997, replacing the Ethiopian birr at par — a politically charged rate that Addis Ababa rejected, contributing directly to the monetary dispute that preceded the 1998–2000 Eritrean–Ethiopian War. The nakfa itself was named after the town of Nakfa, a stronghold of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front during the long independence struggle, and the name had been in common use as a symbolic currency long before independence was secured.

Giesecke & Devrient handled the full inaugural series. The watermark is the sole security feature on this denomination — modest by contemporary standards, though sufficient for a country issuing its first sovereign paper within six years of gaining independence.