One Penny, Coin Type from British West Africa - detailed information

One Penny, Coin Type from British West Africa (issued 1907 - 1958)
Coin TypeOne Penny

The British West African Pound was the currency of British West Africa, a group of British colonies, protectorates and mandate territories - Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana (originally Gold Coast) and Gambia. From 1907 till 1911 the reverse of the coins showed the legend NIGERIA BRITISH WEST AFRICA, then from 1912 the word NIGERIA was discontinued.

The British West African Pound was equal to the (pre-decimal) Pound Sterling and was similarly subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. In other words, the penny was thus equal to 1/12th of a shilling or 1/240th of a pound (i.e., 240 of these coins made one pound).

Unlike its Imperial counterpart - the British Penny - the British West African Penny had a central hole which made the two coins incompatible; this was done to make sure that colonial money does not get exported to Great Britain to be used there, leaving the colonies with no cash.

There were two types issued:
- copper-nickel coins - 1907 - 1951, for King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI
- bronze coins - 1952 -1958 for, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II

After decolonisation, the coins were replaced by the various new countries as they introduced their own independent currencies:
- Nigeria introduced the Nigerian Pound in 1958
- Ghana introduced in Ghanaian Pound in 1958
- British Cameroon (on unification with Cameroon) adopted the Central African CFA Franc in 1961
- Sierra Leone introduced the Leone in 1964
- Gambia introduced the Gambian Pound in 1965

In some places, British West African coins circulated in parallel with the new coinage until 1968.

Obverse
British West Africa / One Penny - obverse photo

An imperial crown above a central circular hole with a scroll ornament to right and left; below the crown and around the hole, the value and denomination ONE PENNY.

Around, outside the scroll ornaments, the legend of the ruling British monarch.

Below the hole, the denomination in Arabic: وَاحِد پَنّي.

The mint mark (if any) is between the central hole and the Arabic text.

Obverse Inscription Legend of the ruling British monarch ONE PENNY وَاحِد پَنّي
Reverse
British West Africa / One Penny - reverse photo

Around a circular central hole, Solomon's seal (a six-pointed "Star of David"), consisting of two equilateral triangles interlaced.

Around, interrupted by the star, the legend NIGERIA BRITISH WEST AFRICA (1907 - 1911) or BRITISH WEST AFRICA (1912 - 1952); around below, the star divides the date: · [year] ·.

Reverse Inscription (NIGERIA) BRITISH WEST AFRICA · [year] ·
EdgePlainEdge InscriptionNone
Notes

References to additional information:

[Book] Remick, Jerome. 1971. The Guide Book and Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins, pp 87-95.
[Book] Vice, David. 1983. The Coinage of British West Africa & St. Helena 1684 - 1958.

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Royal Mint
Royal Mint
Coin Type: One Penny - (38) Coins
Coin NameReverseObverseDetails
One Penny 1907 British West Africa / One Penny 1907 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1907 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 862,848
One Penny 1908 British West Africa / One Penny 1908 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1908 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 3,217,152
One Penny 1909 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 960,000
One Penny 1910 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,520,000
One Penny 1911 British West Africa / One Penny 1911 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1911 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Birmingham Mint
Mintage: 1,920,000
One Penny 1912 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Birmingham Mint
Mintage: 1,560,000
One Penny 1913 British West Africa / One Penny 1913 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1913 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Royal Mint: 1,680,000
- Birmingham Mint: 144,000
Total Mintage: 1,824,000
One Penny 1914 Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Royal Mint: 3,000,000
- Birmingham Mint: 14,000
Total Mintage: 3,014,000
One Penny 1915 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Birmingham Mint
Mintage: 3,295,200
One Penny 1916 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Birmingham Mint
Mintage: 3,460,800
One Penny 1917 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Birmingham Mint
Mintage: 444,000
One Penny 1918 British West Africa / One Penny 1918 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1918 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Birmingham Mint
Mintage: 993,600
One Penny 1919 British West Africa / One Penny 1919 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1919 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Birmingham Mint: 21,864,000
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 264,300
Total Mintage: 22,128,300
One Penny 1920 Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Birmingham Mint: 37,869,600
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 20,685,000
Total Mintage: 58,554,600
One Penny 1922 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: King's Norton Metal Co.
Mintage: 3,970,560
One Penny 1926 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 8,040,000
One Penny 1927 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 792,000
One Penny 1928 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 6,672,000
One Penny 1929 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 636,000
One Penny 1933 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,805,600
One Penny 1934 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 2,640,000
One Penny 1935 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 8,551,200
One Penny 1936 George V Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 7,368,000
One Penny 1936 Edward VIII British West Africa / One Penny 1936 Edward VIII - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1936 Edward VIII - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Birmingham Mint: 12,600,000
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 12,512,000
- Royal Mint: 7,992,000
Total Mintage: 33,104,000
One Penny 1937 British West Africa / One Penny 1937 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1937 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 11,999,400
- Birmingham Mint: 6,112,000
Total Mintage: 18,111,400
One Penny 1940 British West Africa / One Penny 1940 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1940 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Royal Mint: 3,840,000
- Birmingham Mint: 2,400,000
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 2,400,000
Total Mintage: 8,640,000
One Penny 1941 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 6,960,000
One Penny 1942 Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 18,840,000
One Penny 1943 Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- Royal Mint: 28,920,000
- Birmingham Mint: 7,200,000
Total Mintage: 36,120,000
One Penny 1944 British West Africa / One Penny 1944 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1944 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mint: Royal Mint
Mintage: 19,440,000
One Penny 1945 Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 9,556,800
- Birmingham Mint: 9,000,000
- Royal Mint: 6,072,000
Total Mintage: 24,628,800
One Penny 1946 British West Africa / One Penny 1946 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1946 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 11,976,000
- Birmingham Mint: 10,446,000
- Pretoria Mint: 1,020,000
Total Mintage: 23,442,000
One Penny 1947 British West Africa / One Penny 1947 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1947 - obverse photo Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- South African Mint: 58,980,000
- Birmingham Mint: 12,442,720
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 9,829,300
Total Mintage: 81,252,020
One Penny 1951 Material: CuproNickel
Mints:
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 2,692,300
- Royal Mint: 1,257,600
Total Mintage: 3,949,900
One Penny 1952 British West Africa / One Penny 1952 - reverse photo British West Africa / One Penny 1952 - obverse photo Material: Bronze
Mints:
- Birmingham Mint: 45,398,400
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 30,794,400
- Royal Mint: 10,542,000
Total Mintage: 86,734,800
One Penny 1956 Material: Bronze
Mints:
- Birmingham Mint: 13,503,200
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 13,499,600
Total Mintage: 27,002,800
One Penny 1957 Material: Bronze
Mints:
- Royal Mint: 9,000,000
- King's Norton Metal Co.: 5,600,000
- Birmingham Mint: 5,340,000
Total Mintage: 19,940,000
One Penny 1958 Material: Bronze
Mints:
- King's Norton Metal Co.: unknown
- Royal Mint: unknown
Total Mintage: 12,200,000
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One Penny: Details
CountryBritish West Africa
CurrencyBritish West African Pound
Sub-types One Penny, CuproNickel
One Penny, Bronze
From1907
To1958
Face Value1 (x Penny)
CurrentNo (demonetised 1968)
Material
Designer
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound with hole
OrientationMedal Alignment (Axis 0)
Size
Mass
One Penny: Photos
ImageDetails
One Penny: Photo Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1908 Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1908
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: King Edward VII (1907 - 1910).
Source
One Penny: Photo Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1913 Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1913
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: King George V (1911 - 1936).
Source
One Penny: Photo Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1936 Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1936
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: King Edward VIII (1936).
Source
One Penny: Photo Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1947 Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1947
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: King George VI, Emperor of India (1937 - 1947).
Source
One Penny: Photo Proof Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1952 Proof Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1952
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: King George VI, in bronze (1952).
Source
One Penny: Photo Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1908 Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1908
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: NIGERIA - BRITISH WEST AFRICA (1907 - 1911).
Source
One Penny: Photo Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1913 Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1913
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: BRITISH WEST AFRICA , in CuproNickel (1912 - 1951).
Source
One Penny: Photo Proof Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1952 Proof Coin - 1 Penny, British West Africa, 1952
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: Bronze (1952 - 1958).
Source