Coinage of Guinea-Bissau

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Map of Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau and the surrounding region.

From Wikipedia:

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa that covers 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq miles) with an estimated population of 1,874,000.

Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonised as Portuguese Guinea. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since independence, and only one elected president (José Mário Vaz) has successfully served a full five-year term.

Only about 2% of the population speaks Portuguese, the official language, as a first language and 33% as a second language. As for Creole, the national language, also considered language of unity, 54% of population speak it as a first language and about 52% speaks it as a second language (According to a study conducted in 2012 pertaining to language policy in Guinea-Bissau). The remainder speak a variety of native African languages. There are diverse religions in Guinea-Bissau with no one religion having a majority. The CIA World Factbook (2008 estimate) states there are about 40% Muslims, 22% Christians, 15% Animists, and 18% unspecified or other. The country's per-capita gross domestic product is one of the lowest in the world.

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Flag of Guinea-Bissau.

From Wikipedia:

The national flag of Guinea-Bissau was adopted in 1973 when independence from Portugal was proclaimed. Like the former flag of Cape Verde, the flag is based on that of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). The party was established in 1956 to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal during its Estado Novo regime, but turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was one of the belligerents in the 1963–74 Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. It is still the dominant party in Guinea-Bissau. The PAIGC party flag was derived from that of Ghana, which was the first design to use the Pan-African combination of red, yellow, green, and black in 1957.

In the Ghanaian view, the black star stands for the unity of Africa. Red stands for the blood shed during the struggle for independence, yellow stands for the sun, and green represents hope.

The flag features the traditional Pan-African colors of gold, green, red, and also the Black Star of Africa. The flag's design is heavily influenced by the flag of Ghana. The colors have the same meanings: specifically, the red is for the blood of martyrs, green for forests, and gold for mineral wealth.

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COLONIAL COINAGE

Portugal, 10 escudos, 1952.

Before independence from Portugal, the country was known as Portuguese Guinea.

It used the escudo, with a special emblem on the reverse.


See also: Portuguese Empire: Coats of Arms of the 20th Century.

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INDEPENDENCE COINAGE OF 1977

Obverse of the coin series of 1977.

From Wikipedia:

Guinea-Bissau adopted the peso as its currency in 1975. The peso was subdivided into 100 centavos. It replaced the escudo at par.

The first coins were issued in 1977. The obverse design showed the national emblem. This emblem featured a black star, that is part of traditional Pan-African symbolism, and is often referred to as the Black star of Africa. A seashell at the bottom unites two symmetrical olive branches. The sea shell is symbolic of the location of the country on the West coast of Africa. The emblem includes the national motto of Guinea-Bissau: in English, "Unity, Struggle, Progress".

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Guinea-Bissau, 2½ pesos, 1977.

A closer view of the obverse of one of the coins.

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The 50 centavos coin was the lowest denomination of the series.

It was made of aluminium.


It weighed 2.2 grams and had a diameter of 25.1 mm.

The reverse design featured a coconut palm.

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Guinea-Bissau, 50 centavos, 1977.

A scarce aluminium-bronze version of the 50 centavos coin also exists.

It weighed 6 grams and had a diameter of 25 mm.

Image © A. Monge da Silva.

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The 1 peso coin was made of aluminium-bronze.

It weighed 4 grams and had a diameter of 22 mm.

The reverse design depicted a cassava plant.

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The 2½ pesos coin was made of aluminium-bronze.

It weighed 6 grams and had a diameter of 25 mm.

The reverse design depicted a date palm.

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The 5 pesos coin was made of copper-nickel.

It weighed 8.3 grams and had a diameter of 27 mm.

The reverse design depicted a peanut plant.

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There was no 10 pesos coin in the series.

The highest denomination of the series was the 20 pesos coin.


It was made of copper-nickel, weighed 12.65 grams and had a diameter of 32 mm.

The reverse design depicted a rice plant./center]

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This was a one year set only.  The Royal Mint (UK) produced the coins. They told me that Michael Hibbit designed and modelled the coins, according to the information they held. Mr. Hibbit told me via his nephew that he did NOT design or model them, so it must remain a mystery.