Biafra's coinage was issued during the final, desperate phase of the secession — by 1969 the breakaway republic had been reduced to a shrinking enclave in southeastern Nigeria, under blockade and facing mass starvation. That coins were struck at all reflects the government's determination to project the trappings of statehood even as the military situation collapsed. The aluminium composition was not an aesthetic choice; the Republic had virtually no access to copper or other base metals through the blockade.
Biafra surrendered in January 1970. Most of this coinage never meaningfully circulated.
Biafra's coinage was issued during the final, desperate phase of the secession — by 1969 the breakaway republic had been reduced to a shrinking enclave in southeastern Nigeria, under blockade and facing mass starvation. That coins were struck at all reflects the government's determination to project the trappings of statehood even as the military situation collapsed. The aluminium composition was not an aesthetic choice; the Republic had virtually no access to copper or other base metals through the blockade.
Biafra surrendered in January 1970. Most of this coinage never meaningfully circulated.