Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | British West African Currency Board |
|---|---|
| Year | 1937-1938 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blank reverse field entirely devoid of any design, inscription, or devices, presenting an unadorned brass surface typical of a trial planchet or uniface test piece. The raised rim is continuous and well-formed around the full circumference, demonstrating the use of a restraining collar during striking. Fine flow lines and scattered contact marks are visible across the field, indicative of the milling process. The surface displays a warm golden-brass tone with age-related patination. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1937-1938) |
| Additional information |
The British West African Currency Board operated as a currency union spanning Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia — a single monetary authority managing coinage across four separate colonial territories. The 1937–38 period coincided with a transition in composition for the florin-sized two-shilling piece, as the Board moved away from earlier cupro-nickel specifications. Blank planchets and trial strikes from this phase document the testing of brass as a replacement alloy before full production was authorized through the Royal Mint and its contracted facilities.
Pre-production trials of this kind rarely escaped the mint. That this one did is the more interesting fact.