Ghana's modern coinage

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Reverse of the 500 cedis coin of 1998.

The 500 cedis coin was issued dated 1996 and 1998.

It was the final coin type of the second cedi.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COINAGE OF THE 1990s




Ghana, 5 cedis, 1984.

Before 1990, the coins' denominations were always shown in words.




Ghana, 5 cedis, 1991.




Ghana, 20 cedis, 1991.

From 1990 onwards, the denominations were shown in numerals and words.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COINAGE OF THE 1990s



Drums: 5, 50 and 500 cedis.



Cocoa pods: 10 and 100 cedis.



Cowrie shell: 20 and 200 cedis.

DESIGNS AND DENOMINATIONS

From 1979 onward, the common reverse design of the second cedi coinage was the coat of arms.

This was an unusual situation. Normally this would be the common obverse design.


Also, the obverse is generally the side that shows the country name.

This series did indeed show the country name GHANA on the obverse.


Unusually, the obverse of this series also featured different thematic pictorial designs.

That was in addition to showing the country name.


See:  Circulation sets with different obverse designs but a common reverse design.

After 1979, the obverse featured three different designs:

1] Cocoa pods.

2] Bush drums.

3] A cowrie shell.

These same designs appeared on various denominations.

Various new denominations were issued in the 1990s.

Disappointingly, no new obverse designs were created for the new denominations.


At first sight, the obverse designs of the 1990s appear somewhat random, even chaotic.

They all feature one of the three standard obverse designs.

However, there is method among the seeming chaos. See below!

OBVERSE DESIGNS OF THE 1990s

The bush drums appear on the 5, 50 and 500 cedis coins.

The cocoa pods appear on the 10 and 100 cedis coins.

The cowrie shell appears on the 20 and 200 cedis coins.


Did you notice the deliberate pattern?

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REDENOMINATION OF THE CEDI

By the 21st century, years of high inflation had eroded the cedi's value.

The government therefore decided to redenominate the currency.


On 2 July 2007 a new currency and coinage were introduced.

This was the Third Cedi.


1 cedi was equal to 10,000 old cedis.

The third cedi was composed of 100 pesewas.

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Obverse of the 1 pesewa coin of 2007. 

The coin is made of copper-plated steel.  Diameter: 17 mm

The full national coat of arms appears on the obverse of all the new coins.

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Reverse of the 1 pesewa coin of 2007. 

The reverse of the 1 pesewa coin features the Adomi bridge.

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The Adomi bridge, Ghana.

From Wikipedia:

The Adomi Bridge (originally the Volta Bridge) is a latticed steel arch suspension bridge. It crosses the Volta River at Atimpoku in Ghana in West Africa. It is the first permanent bridge to span the Volta River, which drains south into the Gulf of Guinea. It is Ghana's longest suspension bridge. It provides the main road passage, just south of the Akosombo Dam, between the Eastern Region and the Volta Region of Ghana. It was opened in 1957 by Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president. The iconic crescent-shaped arch bridge is featured in Ghanaian stamps and currency.

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Obverse of the Ghana 5 pesewas coin, 2016.

Here you see the obverse of the 5 pesewas coin since 2007.

It shows the full national coat of arms.


The coin is made of nickel-plated steel.

It weighs 2.5 grams and has a diameter of 18 mm.

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Reverse of the 5 pesewas coin.

The design features a man blowing a horn.

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Reverse of the 10 pesewas coin.

The 10 pesewas coin is made of nickel-plated steel.

It weighs 3.4 grams and has a diameter of 20.5 mm.


The reverse design features an open book and a pen.

These symbols represent Education.

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Reverse of the 20 pesewas coin.

The 20 pesewas coin is made of nickel-plated steel.

It weighs 4.3 grams and has a diameter of 23.5 mm.


The reverse design features a cocoa pod.

Cocoa pods were featured on many of the old Ghanaian coins.

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Reverse of the 50 pesewas coin of 2007.

The 50 pesewas coin is made of nickel-plated steel.

It weighs 6.2 grams and has a diameter of 26.5 mm.


The reverse design features a market woman.

The woman is said to be Rebecca Naa Dedei Aryeetey.

See:  Classic national women on coins.

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Obverse of the 1 cedi coin of 2007.

The 1 cedi coin is the highest denomination of the series.

It is bimetallic, having a brass center within a nickel-steel ring.

It weighs 7.4 grams and has a diameter of 28 mm.

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Reverse of the 1 cedi coin of 2007.

The reverse design showed the Scales of Justice.

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All the reverse designs.  The coin sizes are not to scale.

Ghana now had a traditional thematic design series.

The country name and coat of arms appeared on the common obverse.


The coins and their designs were produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.