1 Butut

The Gambia's first decimal coinage, introduced in 1971, replaced the pound sterling system following the country's move to the dalasi and butut in 1971 — itself a byproduct of the broader post-independence push to sever the last administrative ties to British monetary convention. The Gambia had only become independent in 1965, making this series among the earliest expressions of its autonomous economic identity.

The bronze composition chosen here was already becoming obsolete in British-influenced minting circles by the early 1970s, as rising copper prices were pushing former Commonwealth nations toward cheaper alloys. The Gambia would follow suit in subsequent series.