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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. Unlike its Imperial counterpart though, the British West African Pound - uniquely among British colonies - also had a denomination worth one tenth of a penny - due to the low standard of living in the African colonies, where people had considerably less money than people elsewhere. The denomination was worth 1/2,400th of a pound (i.e., 2,400 of these coins made one pound). There were several types issued: After decolonisation, the coins were replaced by the various new countries as they introduced their own independent currencies: In some places, British West African coins circulated in parallel with the new coinage until 1968. | ||||
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The Definitive Guide to Australian Silver Coins |
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Country | British West Africa |
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Currency | British West African Pound |
Sub-types |
One-tenth Penny (Aluminium, Edward VII) One-tenth Penny (CuproNickel, Edward VII) One-tenth Penny (CuproNickel, George V) One-tenth Penny (CuproNickel, Edward VIII) One-tenth Penny (CuproNickel, George VI) One-tenth Penny (Bronze, George VI) One-tenth Penny (Bronze, Elizabeth II) |
From | 1907 |
To | 1957 |
Face Value | 1/10 (x Penny) |
Current | No (demonetised 1968) |
Material | |
Designer | |
Technology | Milled (machine-made) |
Shape | Round with hole |
Orientation | Medal Alignment (Axis 0) |
Size | |
Mass |
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Image | Details |
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Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1908
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: King Edward VII, aluminium (1907 - 1908). Source |
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British West Africa 1/10 Penny 1933
Copyright: smarty_marty24 Notes: King George V (1911 - 1936). Source |
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Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1936
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: King Edward VIII (1936). Source |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1938
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: King George VI, Emperor of India (1938 - 1947). Source |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1952
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: King George VI (1949 - 1952). Source |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1954
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: Queen Elizabeth II (1954 - 1957). Source |
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Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1908
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: Aluminium (1907 - 1908). Source |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1938
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: CuproNickel (1908 - 1950). Source |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1954
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: Bronze (1952 - 1957). Source |