2 Shillings - George V

British West Africa was not a single colony but a administrative grouping covering Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and Gambia — all sharing a common currency managed by the West African Currency Board, established in 1912 specifically to replace the chaotic mixture of foreign coins and commodity monies that had previously circulated across the region. The tin-brass alloy adopted for this series was a deliberate departure from the cupro-nickel used elsewhere in the Empire, chosen partly for its resistance to the humid tropical climate.

The WACB maintained a strict sterling parity, with every coin backed one-for-one by funds held in London.