20 Leones Unauthorized issue

KM#295 occupies an awkward corner of Sierra Leonean numismatics — issued without authorization from the Bank of Sierra Leone, it falls into the category of pieces produced by private minting contractors targeting the collector market rather than circulation. Sierra Leone's name and nominal face value appear, but the coin was never legal tender in any functional sense. These pieces proliferated in the early 2000s as several African nations found their sovereignty exploited by foreign firms producing low-mintage "issues" sold through dealers and television shopping channels.