Nigeria's Central Bank was established by ordinance in 1958 and began operations in July 1959, so this 1958-dated note belongs to the very first series ever issued by the institution — printed and held in readiness before the bank had even opened its doors. Waterlow & Sons had extensive experience with British colonial and newly independent African currency work, and Nigeria's inaugural series was among their last significant African contracts before the firm was absorbed by De La Rue in 1961.
The West African Currency Board had handled Nigerian currency until this transition, making this issue a clean break from a shared regional system that had served multiple British territories under a single note pool since 1912.
Nigeria's Central Bank was established by ordinance in 1958 and began operations in July 1959, so this 1958-dated note belongs to the very first series ever issued by the institution — printed and held in readiness before the bank had even opened its doors. Waterlow & Sons had extensive experience with British colonial and newly independent African currency work, and Nigeria's inaugural series was among their last significant African contracts before the firm was absorbed by De La Rue in 1961.
The West African Currency Board had handled Nigerian currency until this transition, making this issue a clean break from a shared regional system that had served multiple British territories under a single note pool since 1912.