Did you know that as at 2023, eleven changes have been made to Nigeria's currency since it gained independence from British colonial government?

With the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) redesign of the old naira notes of ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1000 in 2023, we bring to you the eleven changes that have been made to the country's currency since independence in 1960 as compiled by the DailyTrust.

▪️1962: The currency form of Nigeria was changed, showing its status as an independent country, unlike before when it was under the British rule. The inscription ‘Federation of Nigeria’ was replaced with ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria’ on the notes.

▪️1973: The name of the Nigerian currency was changed from pound to naira. A naira at the time was equal to 10 shillings while 100 kobo became one naira.

▪️1977: A new ₦20 banknote was introduced. At that time, it was the big banknote in the country introduced by the CBN because of the development of the country’s economy. It gave people the freedom to hold a lot of money in few notes instead of holding a lot of banknotes. For the first time, the image of a prominent citizen was put on the banknote.

▪️1979: Three new banknotes were introduced, one naira, five naira and ten naira (₦1, ₦5, ₦10). In order for people to be able to recognize and differentiate them, they were made of different colours. Then on the back of each of them, there was a picture that showed the culture of the country.

▪️1984: All the colours of the banknotes were changed except for the 50 kobo note which according to the authorities was to control the withdrawal of the money to foreign countries.

▪️1999: To expand the country’s economy and facilitate trade, banknotes ₦100, ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 notes were introduced in December 1999, November 2000, April 2001 and October 2005 respectively.

▪️2007: As part of the economic reforms, a polymer ₦20 banknote was introduced for the first time. The features of ₦50, ₦10, ₦5 as well as ₦1 and 50 kobo coins were also changed while ₦2 coin was introduced.

▪️2009: As a result of the benefits that the government said it saw in changing the ₦20 note to polymer, it changed the ₦50, ₦10 and ₦5 notes to polymer.

▪️2010: The CBN introduced a new ₦50 naira note to celebrate Nigeria’s 50th anniversary.

▪️2014: The apex bank redesigned ₦100 note to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Nigeria’s amalgamation between northern and southern entities in 1914.

▪️2022: The apex bank redesigned the ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1000 notes to reduce the amount of money in circulation and control inflation. The redesigned notes would start circulating from December 15, 2022 while the old notes would continue to be in use.

Source: Daily Trust

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