Banknote: Sierra Leone Fifty Cents

Bank Note: Sierra Leone Fifty Cents

Type: Standard banknote
Years: 1979-1984
Value: 50 Cents
Currency Leone (1964-date)
Composition: Paper
Size: 140 × 62 mm
Shape: Rectangular

Obverse
President Siaka Stevens, Hibiscus flowers

Lettering:
Bank Of Sierra Leone
Promise to pay on demand the sum of
Fifty Cents

Reverse
Bank of Sierra Leone building, Freetown

Lettering:
Bank of Sierra Leone
Fifty Cents

Printer
De La Rue (Thomas de la Rue,Thomas De La Rue & Co.,TDLR), London, United Kingdom (1821-date)

Information reference: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note212322.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leonean_leone

Brief History

The leone was introduced on 4 August 1964. It replaced the British West African pound at a rate of 1 pound = 2 leones (i.e., 1 leone = 10 shillings).

When it was introduced, one leone was worth precisely half a pound sterling or US$1.40. The leone was worth more than the U.S. dollar until the 1980s, when the currency started to devalue rapidly.

With the introduction of decimal currency in 1964, a new series of Banknotes was introduced by the Bank of Sierra Leone. Originally called Shillings, the unit name "Leone" was finally decided upon.