Nigeria's first post-independence banknote series, of which this is part, was introduced in 1965 to replace the West African Currency Board issues that had circulated across British West Africa as a shared regional currency. The break was politically deliberate — Lagos wanted a distinctly Nigerian instrument, not a colonial holdover shared with Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.
Thomas De La Rue produced the entire series, a common arrangement for newly independent Commonwealth states that lacked domestic printing infrastructure. The 5 Shilling denomination survived only until 1973, when Nigeria decimalized and replaced shillings with kobo, making this a short-lived type within an already brief series run.
Nigeria's first post-independence banknote series, of which this is part, was introduced in 1965 to replace the West African Currency Board issues that had circulated across British West Africa as a shared regional currency. The break was politically deliberate — Lagos wanted a distinctly Nigerian instrument, not a colonial holdover shared with Ghana, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.
Thomas De La Rue produced the entire series, a common arrangement for newly independent Commonwealth states that lacked domestic printing infrastructure. The 5 Shilling denomination survived only until 1973, when Nigeria decimalized and replaced shillings with kobo, making this a short-lived type within an already brief series run.