20 Cents

Sierra Leone's post-independence coinage was issued against a backdrop of single-party consolidation under Siaka Stevens, who declared the country a republic in 1971 and a one-party state in 1978 — the same year this series began. The Bank of Sierra Leone, established in 1964, managed currency policy through a period of deepening economic mismanagement and diamond revenue diversion that would ultimately hollow out the country's foreign reserves well before this type left production.