5 Leones

Sierra Leone's 1980 currency reform followed the country's transition to a republic in 1971 and the gradual displacement of the Leone's earlier parity arrangements. By 1980, inflation was beginning to erode purchasing power meaningfully, and the 5 Leones note — a mid-range denomination — would have seen heavy everyday use before eventually being replaced by higher-denomination issues as the decade wore on.

De La Rue's involvement was continuous across multiple Sierra Leone series; the P#12 shares its basic security architecture with other denominations in the set, relying on a watermark alone without the foil or security thread features introduced in later printings.