Catalog
3 Pence - George V
| Issuer | British West Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920-1936 |
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| Value | 3 Pence (1⁄80) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing draped bust of King George V wearing the Imperial State Crown, modelled by Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal. The effigy is rendered in high relief with fine detail to the robes and crown. A beaded border frames the design. The circular Latin legend surrounds the bust, reading from lower left and interrupted at the base by a small stop. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
British West Africa had no unified coinage infrastructure of its own — these pieces were struck in Birmingham, primarily at the Heaton Mint and the King's Norton Metal Company, under contract to the West African Currency Board established in 1912. The Board was a deliberate instrument of monetary control, designed to keep West African territories financially tethered to sterling while preventing the circulation of foreign silver that had long complicated trade along the coast.
The tin-brass composition was chosen specifically for its resistance to tropical corrosion, a persistent problem that had degraded earlier cupro-nickel issues faster than anticipated in the humidity of the Gulf of Guinea littoral.