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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. Thus, 1/10 penny coins issued in 1938 would have circulated for up to 30 years depending on location. | |||||||||
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Royal Mint |
Source | Edition | About | Link | Notes |
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Museums Victoria Collections | 2016 | Coin description | link | |
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins | 1971 | Mint | ||
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins | 1971 | Mintage | ||
Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins | Varieties | Proofs |
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Royal Mint |
Country | British West Africa |
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Currency | British West African Pound |
Coin Type | One-tenth Penny (CuproNickel, George VI) |
Issued | 1938 |
Monarch | King George VI |
Effigy | Imperial Crown - St Edward's Crown and the Tudor Crown |
Reverse | Imperial Crown - St Edward's Crown and the Tudor Crown |
Face Value | 1/10 (x Penny) |
Total Mintage | 13,596,000 (13.6 million) |
Current | No; demonetised 1968 |
Material | CuproNickel |
Technology | Milled (machine-made) |
Shape | Round with hole |
Orientation | Medal Alignment (Axis 0) |
Size | 20.0000 mm |
Mass | 1.9000 g |
OCC ID | JPMV-ROAP-CBMX-ENQG |
Image | Details |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1938
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: Royal Mint (no mint mark). Proof. Source |
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Proof Coin - 1/10 Penny, British West Africa, 1938
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY Author: Jennifer McNair Notes: Royal Mint. Proof. Source |
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1/10 Penny
Copyright: British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA Notes: Royal Mint (no mint mark). Source |
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1/10 Penny
Copyright: British Museum / CC BY-NC-SA Notes: Heaton Mint (H mint mark). Source |
Source | Reference ID |
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Krause, Standard Catalog of World Coins | British West Africa KM# 20 |