African Currency

African History

In pre-colonial times African currency included shells, ingots, arrowheads, iron, human beings, salt, cattle, goats, blankets, axes, beads, and many others. In the early 1800s a slave could be bought in West Africa with manilla currency; multiples of C-shaped rings of bronze or other metal that could be strung on a staff. Slaves could also be bought for salt or for any number of exchangeable items with a 'store of value'. Dowry or bride price or Lobolo items were usually of diverse nature: cows, blankets, clay pots, and so on. Coins were used in Northern and Eastern Africa from Egyptian times onwards due to ongoing trade contact with Europe and Asia.
During Colonial times (roughly from 1680 to 1990) the respective colonial powers introduced their own currencies to their colonies or produced local versions of their currencies. Examples include the Somali shilling; the Italian East African lira; and the African franc (in Francophone countries). Many post-colonial governments have retained the name and notional value unit system of their prior colonial era currency. For example the British West African pound was replaced by the Nigerian pound which is still divided into shillings.

A different trend is seen when the predominant foreign power relationship changes, causing a change in the currency: the East African rupee (from long-term trade with Arabia and India) was replaced by the East African shilling after the British become the predominant power in the region. Other countries threw off the dominant currency of a neighbour; the Botswana pula replaced the South African rand in Botswana in 1976. Some countries have not changed their currency despite being post-colonial, for example Uganda retains the Ugandan shilling.

Many African countries change their currency's appearance when a new government takes power (often the new head of state will appear on bank notes), though the notional value remains the same. Also, in many African currencies there is such rampant inflation that re-valuing must take place every so often (viz. the Zimbabwe dollar). There is a thriving street trade by unlicensed street traders in US dollars or other stable non-African currency, which are seen as a hedge against local inflation. The exchange rate is grossly more favorable to the seller of the foreign currency than is the official bank rate, and is usually labelled a crime.

In many rural areas there is still a strong bartering culture, the exchanged items being of more immediate value than official currency (you can eat a chicken but not a coin). Even where currency is used, haggling over prices is very common. This is in contrast with the pre-independence Rhodesian dollar which was always a strong currency linked to the British pound.

There is a planned West African Monetary Zone among Anglophone African countries planned for implementation in 2009. Similarly in East Africa, the member countries of the East African Community plan to introduce a single currency, the East African Shilling in 2012.

 Liberia Cloth currency (strips)


Among the peoples of Liberia and Sierra Leone, rolls of woven cotton strips were used as bride price or exchanged for metal implements and salt.

Another widely used common currency was woven goods. Two types are a part of this exhibition—the cotton woven strip roll and the raffia mat or bundles. Strip cloth known among Nigerians as gabanga was often plain and undyed. As a rule, the strips had a standard width between four and six inches. Variations in width and the quality of the weave gave the parties of the transaction a means to negotiate value. Cloth was also frequently used in connection with other currencies, such as brass rods, lending additional flexibility to the negotiations. As there was no government regulation of cloth production, its circulation was limited by the cost and effort of production (the need to spin fibers into threads and then weave the fabric) and by demand. Cloths or mats of more-or-less uniform size were used for gifts, peace offerings, payment from a son to his father upon attaining adulthood and payment upon the birth of a child or the burial of a parent. Cloth currency was also used as a tribute for a spouse who remained chaste or, by contrast, as a penalty for adultery.