Gambian pound
The pound (symbol: £) 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 (or D1 = 4/–). 1 pound was made up of 20 shillings (symbol: "s" or "/–"), each shilling consisting of 12 pence (symbol: "d", for denarius).
History
When the Gambia was granted internal self-government in October 1963, rather than being a constituent colony of
The Gambia Currency Board issued the Gambia's first coinage, struck by the
The Central Bank of the Gambia took over assets and liabilities of the Gambia Currency Board in 1971, and a new decimal currency was introduced to replace the Gambian pound. The new currency was named the
Coins
Coins were introduced by the Gambia Currency Board on 18 February 1966 and these were minted by the
Value | Date | Composition | Reverse |
---|---|---|---|
1d | 1966 | Bronze | Native sailing boat |
3d | 1966 | Aluminium bronze | Double-spurred spurfowl |
6d | 1966 | Cupronickel | Three peanuts |
1/– | 1966 | Cupronickel | Oil palm
|
2/– | 1966 | Cupronickel | African domestic ox |
4/– | 1966 | Cupronickel | Slender-snouted crocodile |
8/– | 1970 | Cupronickel | Hippopotamus |
The Gambian 8/– coin is the only coin of this denomination ever minted. With the exception of the Hippopotamus, the reverse designs of the pre-decimal coins were reused on the new dalasi coins.[2]
Banknotes
On October 5, 1964, new banknotes were introduced by the Gambia Currency Board in denominations of 10/–, £1 and £5. All notes had a sailing boat with a forest background on the obverse and were produced until 1970.[3]
Value | Colour | Reverse |
---|---|---|
10/– | Green | Natives tending their crops
|
£1 | Red | Labourers working at a wharf
|
£5 | Blue | People using hand powered machinery |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "A History of The Gambian Dalasi". Gambia Information Site. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
- ^ ISBN 0-87341-150-1.
- ISBN 0-87341-207-9.