Catalog
1 Leone Bank Anniversary
| Issuer | Bank of Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| Year | 1974 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Central device within a raised inner circle depicts a prowling lion passant to the right, set against a mountainous landscape with stylised waves in the lower field, evoking the Sierra Leone coat of arms. The lion is rendered in high relief with fine detailing to the mane and musculature. The encircling legend reads BANK OF SIERRA LEONE 10th ANNIVERSARY 1964-1974 along the upper arc, with the denomination ONE 1 LEONE inscribed along the lower arc between the inner circle and the milled border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ·UNITY·FREEDOM·JUSTICE· DR. SIAKA STEVENS |
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| Additional information |
Issued to mark the tenth anniversary of the Bank of Sierra Leone, founded in 1964 as the country's first central bank following independence from Britain three years earlier. The bank's establishment allowed Sierra Leone to retire the West African Currency Board, which had controlled the region's money supply from London since 1912 — a colonial arrangement that gave local governments no meaningful control over credit or monetary policy.
The copper-nickel alloy used here mirrors the composition adopted for British decimal coinage the same year, a practical choice for a mint-contracted commemorative rather than a signal of anything particular about Sierra Leone's monetary preferences at the time.