Catalog
1 Pound
| Issuer | Bank of Biafra |
|---|---|
| Year | 1968-1969 |
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| Currency | Pound (1967-1970) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a palm tree set against a stylised sunrise, enclosed within an ornate circular guilloche border and flanked by decorative corner roundels repeating the numeral 1. Bank and country inscriptions run across the upper and lower registers, with a promise-to-pay legend occupying the lower portion of the face; the denomination ONE POUND and the £1 equivalent appear in a ribbon cartouche along the base. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Biafra issued this note during the worst phase of the secession war, when the breakaway republic was being systematically blockaded by Nigerian federal forces. By 1968 the territory under Biafran control had shrunk dramatically, yet the government continued printing currency as a tool of sovereign legitimacy as much as economic function. The notes were printed by the Portuguese Security Printing Company (INCM) in Lisbon — one of the few foreign contractors willing to work with Biafra at that stage of the conflict.
Redemption was never a realistic prospect. When Biafra capitulated in January 1970, the federal government refused to honor the currency at any rate, leaving holders with worthless paper. Surviving notes entered collector markets almost immediately.