Sierra Leone's wildlife series of the early 2000s was produced almost entirely for the collector and souvenir market rather than domestic circulation — the leone, the country's actual currency, was trading at roughly 2,900 to the dollar in 2007, making a one-dollar denomination effectively fictitious as legal tender. These pieces were struck by overseas contract mints and exported directly to distributors, never touching West African commerce.
Sierra Leone's wildlife series of the early 2000s was produced almost entirely for the collector and souvenir market rather than domestic circulation — the leone, the country's actual currency, was trading at roughly 2,900 to the dollar in 2007, making a one-dollar denomination effectively fictitious as legal tender. These pieces were struck by overseas contract mints and exported directly to distributors, never touching West African commerce.