After independence, Ghana separated itself from the British West African pound, which was the currency of
the British colonies in the region. The new republic’s first independent currency was the Ghanaian pound. In
1965, Ghana decided to leave the British colonial monetary system. The African Cedi was introduced in
place of the British pound system. The cedi bore the portrait of the President.
One cedi with the image of President Kwame Nkruhmah
and the Bank of Ghana.
10 cedi with the image of President Kwame Nkruhmah
and Independence Arch. Independence Arch was a
memorial commemorating Ghana’s struggle for
independence.
“My Cabinet has decided, with my agreement, to put my head on the coinage, because many of my
people cannot read or write. They’ve got to be shown that they are now really independent. And they
can only be shown by signs. When they buy stamps they will see my picture, an African like themselves,
and they will say: ‘Look, here is our leader on the stamps. We are truly free people!’”
- Kwame Nkrumah, 1957 critical idea written like a 8th grader