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The pound was the currency of British West Africa, a group of British colonies, protectorates and mandate territories. It was equal to one pound sterling and was similarly subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. [1]
In the 19th century, the pound sterling became the currency of the British West African territories, and standard issue British coinage circulated. The West African territories in question were Nigeria, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra Leone and the Gambia. [2]
A distinctive set of sterling coinage for use in British West Africa was authorized by a series of Orders in Council beginning with the Nigeria Coinage Order, 1906, and in 1912, [3] the authorities in London set up the West African Currency Board. The circumstance prompting this move was a tendency for standard sterling coins shipped to the West African territories to leave the region and return to circulation in the UK, causing a local dearth of coinage. A unique British West African variety of sterling coinage would not be accepted in the shops of Britain and so would remain in circulation locally.
In 1910, Australia commenced issuing its own distinctive varieties of sterling coinage, but the reasons for doing so were quite different from those relating to British West Africa. Australian authorities issued local coinage as a step towards introducing a separate currency with a flexible exchange rate against sterling, while no such plan was considered for British West Africa. With the exception of Jamaica where special low denomination coins were issued in place of the British copper coins, due to local superstitions surrounding the use of copper coinage for church collections, authorities in London did not replace any sterling coins with local issues for any other British colony. [ citation needed ]
The British West African pound was also adopted by Liberia in 1907, replacing the Liberian dollar, although it was not served by the West African Currency Board. Liberia changed to the US dollar in 1943. [4] Togo and Cameroon adopted the West African currency in 1914 and 1916 respectively when British and French troops took over those colonies from Germany as part of World War I.[ citation needed ]
Beginning in 1958, the British West African pound was replaced by local currencies in the individual territories. The replacements were:
| Country | Date | New Currency | Conversion Rate From BWA pound |
| Western Nigeria | 1958 | Nigerian pound | 1 |
| Ghana | 1958 | Ghanaian pound | 1 |
| Nigeria | 1958 | Nigerian pound | 1 |
| British Cameroon | 1961 | CFA franc (BEAC) | 700 |
| Sierra Leone | 1964 | Leone | 2 |
| Gambia | 1965 | Gambian pound | 1 |
In 1907, aluminium 1⁄10d and cupro-nickel 1d coins were introduced. Both coins were holed. In 1908, cupro-nickel replaced aluminium in the 1⁄10d and, in 1911, holed, cupro-nickel 1⁄2d coins were introduced. In 1913, silver 3d and 6d, 1/– and 2/– were introduced. In 1920, brass replaced silver in these denominations.
In 1938, larger, cupro-nickel 3d coins were introduced, with nickel-brass replacing brass in the higher denominations. In 1952, bronze replaced cupro-nickel in the 1⁄10d, 1⁄2d and 1d coins. The last coins of British West Africa were struck in 1958.
In 1916, the West African Currency Board introduced notes for 2/–, 10/–, and 20/– (£1), followed by 1/– notes in 1918. Only the 10/– and 20/– notes were issued after 1918 until 100/– (£5) notes were introduced in 1953. The last notes were produced in 1962.
The Eastern Caribbean dollar is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies dollar, it has existed since 1965, and it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $ or, alternatively, EC$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The EC$ is subdivided into 100 cents. It has been pegged to the United States dollar since 7 July 1976, at the exchange rate of US$1 = EC$2.70.
The Sri Lankan Rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka. It is subdivided into 100 cents, but cents are rarely seen in circulation due to its low value. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The abbreviation Re (singular) and Rs (plural) is generally used, the World Bank suggests SL Rs as a fully disambiguating abbreviation for distinction from other currencies named "rupee".
The sol, later sol de oro, was the currency of Peru between 1863 and 1985. It had the ISO 4217 currency code PES. It was subdivided into 10 dineros or 100 centavos. It also had two different superunits over its circulation life, the inca (1881–1882) and later the gold pound, both worth 10 soles.
The Egyptian pound is the official currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 piastres, or qirsh and was historically divided into 1,000 milliemes.
The shilling is the currency of Tanzania. It is subdivided into 100 cents . The Tanzanian shilling replaced the East African shilling on 14 June 1966 at par.
The Jamaican dollar has been the currency of Jamaica since 1969. It is often abbreviated to J$, the J serving to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents, although cent denominations are no longer in use as of 2018. Goods and services may still be priced in cents, but cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest dollar.
The Guyanese dollar has been the unit of account in Guyana since 29 January 1839. Originally it was intended as a transitional unit to facilitate the changeover from the Dutch guilder system of currency to the British pound sterling system. The Spanish dollar was already prevalent throughout the West Indies in general, and from 1839, the Spanish dollar unit operated in British Guiana in conjunction with British sterling coins at a standard conversion rate of one dollar for every four shillings and twopence. In 1951 the British sterling coinage was replaced with a new decimal coinage which was simultaneously introduced through all the British territories in the Eastern Caribbean. When sterling began to depreciate in the early 1970s, a switch to a US dollar peg became increasingly attractive as an anti-inflationary measure and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority made the switch in October 1975. The Guyanese dollar is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively G$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.
The Saint Helenapound is the currency of the Atlantic islands of Saint Helena and Ascension, which are constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is fixed at parity with sterling, and so both currencies are commonly accepted and circulated within Saint Helena. It is subdivided into 100 pence.
The pound was the currency of New Zealand from 1933 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Prior to this, New Zealand used the pound sterling since the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings each of 12 pence.
The Rupie was the currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916, continuing to circulate in the Tanganyika Territory until 1920.
The pound was the currency of Nigeria between 1907 and 1973. Until 1958, Nigeria used the British West African pound, after which it issued its own currency. The pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The Nigerian pound, at parity with sterling with free convertibility, was replaced in 1973 with the decimal naira at a rate of £1 = ₦2, making Nigeria the last country to abandon the pre-decimal £sd currency system.
The pound was the currency of Ghana between 1958 and 1965. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. Until 1958, Ghana used the British West African pound, after which it issued its own currency. In 1965, Ghana introduced the first cedi at a rate of £1 = ₵2.40, i.e., ₵1 = 100d.
The pound was the currency of The Gambia between 1965 and 1971. Gambia used the British West African pound until it issued its own currency on October 5, 1964. In 1971, the dalasi replaced the pound at a rate of £1 = D5. 1 pound was made up of 20 shillings, each shilling consisting of 12 pence.
The pound was the currency of the Union of South Africa from the formation of the country as a British Dominion in 1910. It was replaced by the rand in 1961 when South Africa decimalised.
The pound was the currency of Zambia from independence in 1964 until decimalization on January 16, 1968. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The pound was the official currency of Jamaica between 1840 and 1969. It circulated as a mixture of sterling coinage and locally issued coins and banknotes and was always equal to the pound sterling. The Jamaican pound was also used in the Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The pound was the currency of Southern Rhodesia. It also circulated in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The pound was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The Kiribati dollar is one of the two official currencies of Kiribati. The Kiribati coins are pegged at 1:1 ratio to the Australian dollar, the other official currency of Kiribati. Kiribati coins were issued in 1979 and circulate alongside banknotes and coins of the Australian dollar. In present day, Kiribati coins are rare in comparison to Australian coins with the last minor emission made in 1992, and these old coins are now generally collectors items. The complete emissions of coins were made in 1979 and in 1989 for the tenth anniversary of independence.
The pound was the currency of Fiji between 1873 and 1969. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The pound was the currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d). In Lower Canada, the sou was used, equivalent to a halfpenny. Although the £sd accounting system had its origins in sterling, the Canadian pound was never at par with sterling's pound.
