THE BRITISH WEST AFRICAN CURRENCY BOARDS INTRODUCTION OF PAPER MONEY
Forgeries were further reduced by adding a security thread, native scenes were introduced on the reverse of the notes and the five pound note was reintroduced after an absence of thirty years.
FIVE POUNDS 1954 PICK 11B REVERSE FIVE POUNDS PICK11B 1954 NATIVE SCENE
The growing pressures for independence meant it was inevitable that the Currency Board would contract. Ghana which had become independent in 1957 entrusted the Bank of Ghana to issue notes in 1958. Nigeria followed soon after the Central Bank of Nigeria opened in July 1959. The currencies of Sierra Leone and Gambia took sometime to be issued. Sierra Leone adopted the Leone from the onset but Gambia (1965) and Nigeria and Ghana initially continued to use the pound**
**See related article Pound Banknotes in post independence British Africa CONTENTS