1 Leone

The Bank of Sierra Leone was established by statute in 1963, and this note — P#1 — belongs to the inaugural series issued when the Leone replaced the British West African pound following independence. The Leone was introduced at a rate of two to the pound, a clean decimal break that simplified transactions but required a complete re-education of the public on valuation.

Thomas De La Rue handled the print run from their London works, the default choice for nearly every newly independent British African territory during this period. The watermark remains the sole security provision — modest even by early 1960s standards.