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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. 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). The earliest coins of this denomination were made of aluminium; however, they suffered from corrosion and were soon replaced by this type in copper-nickel. 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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Country | British West Africa |
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Currency | British West African Pound |
Sub-type of | One-tenth Penny |
From | 1938 |
To | 1950 |
Face Value | 1/10 (x Penny) |
Current | No (demonetised 1968) |
Material | CuproNickel |
Designer | |
Technology | Milled (machine-made) |
Shape | Round with hole |
Orientation | Medal Alignment (Axis 0) |
Size | 20.0000 mm |
Mass | 1.9000 g |
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Image | Details |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1938
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: Common reverse (1938 - 1950). 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 |