5 Leones

The Bank of Sierra Leone was established in 1964, the same year this note was issued — meaning P#3 belongs to the very first series released by the newly independent country's central bank, which had only received its charter following independence from Britain in 1961. De La Rue was the obvious choice for the commission; they had printed currency for much of British West Africa for decades and held the infrastructure to deliver a complete series quickly.

The watermark is the sole mechanical security feature, which was not unusual for inaugural African issues of this period but left the notes relatively exposed to forgery as the decade wore on.