The Bank of Sierra Leone opened in 1964, a few years after independence, and the Leone itself was introduced in 1964 to replace the British West African pound at par with the new decimal structure. By the time this series was issued, De La Rue had supplied virtually every piece of Sierra Leone's paper currency — a near-total dependency on a single foreign printer that was common among newly independent West African states but rarely discussed openly in monetary policy of the period.
P#5 ran across a decade-long window, which typically indicates periodic reissues with minor date or signature changes rather than a single print run — worth checking the specific signature combination against known panels.
The Bank of Sierra Leone opened in 1964, a few years after independence, and the Leone itself was introduced in 1964 to replace the British West African pound at par with the new decimal structure. By the time this series was issued, De La Rue had supplied virtually every piece of Sierra Leone's paper currency — a near-total dependency on a single foreign printer that was common among newly independent West African states but rarely discussed openly in monetary policy of the period.
P#5 ran across a decade-long window, which typically indicates periodic reissues with minor date or signature changes rather than a single print run — worth checking the specific signature combination against known panels.