How the Ghana cedi notes, pesewa coins have changed over the years

On July 19, 1965, Ghana first adopted the cedi notes and pesewa coins to replace the Ghana pounds; shillings and pence.

Under British colonial rule, the official currency was the Ghana pounds, shillings and pence.

Prior to this, the West African Currency Board was first adopted and used mainly for trading purposes across sub-region in the early 1940s all through to 1954.

Host of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV, Wonder Ami Hagan was granted access to the newly refurbished Ghana national museum which had specimen of the currency notes from the colonial period to date.

A guide at the museum said, “during independence, Ghana had its own currency which is the cedi coming into play and over the years, the currency has changed its phases until July 1, 2007 where the last currency was redenominated and changed”

Meanwhile, after gaining independence in 1957, Ghana made the decision to formally leave the British Colonial Monetary System and adopt the widely accepted decimal system.

The newly adopted cedi notes and pesewa coins at the time were equivalent to eight shillings and four pence (8s 4p) and bore the portrait of the country’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The name ‘cedi’ was however derived from the Akan word ‘sedie’ meaning cowrie – a shell form of currency that gained popularity and wider circulation in the later part of the 19th Century.

The ‘pesewa’ on the hand represented the smallest denomination of the gold-dust currency regime and its name was chosen to replace the British Colonial penny.

Watch the video below: