Catalog
3 Pence - George VI
| Issuer | British West Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938-1947 |
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| Currency | Pound (1907-1968) |
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| Obverse description | Crowned effigy of King George VI facing left, modelled by Percy Metcalfe, wearing the Imperial State Crown. The king is depicted with a bare neck and no drapery. The engraver's initials 'PM' appear in the field to the right of the truncation. A circular Latin legend surrounds the portrait, separated from the toothed border by a raised rim. |
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| Edge | Security edge |
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| Additional information |
British West Africa was not a single colony but an administrative convenience — a currency board covering Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia simultaneously. The West African Currency Board, established in 1912, issued coinage independently of the Royal Mint's standard colonial output, which is why these pieces carry no mint mark distinguishing London from the Kings Norton private mint that struck a significant portion of the series.
The 1939–1945 wartime years interrupted normal copper-nickel supply chains, and some issues within this date range were produced under material constraints that affected die quality and planchet consistency across the run.