Ghanaian cedi

currency
Subclass of	Bank of Ghana
Inception	19 July 1965
Dem name after	cowrie currency
Country	Ghana
Dem locate for de administrative territorial entity insyd	Ghana
Dey apply to jurisdiction	Ghana
Currency symbol description	cedi sign
Central bank/issuer	Bank of Ghana
Dey replace	Ghanaian pound
Start time	19 July 1965
Unit symbol	₵

De cedi (/ˈsiːdiː/ SEE-dee, dem pronounce am de same way as CD) (currency sign: GH₵; currency code: GHS) be de unit of currency of Ghana. Ebe de fourth historical den only current legal tender insyd de Republic of Ghana. One cedi dem divide am into one hundred pesewas (Gp).

After independence, Ghana separate ein self from de British West African pound, wey na ebe de currency give de British colonies insyd de region. De new republic ein first independent currency be de Ghanaian pound (1958–1965). Insyd 1965, Ghana decide say ego leave de British colonial monetary system den adopt de widely accepted decimal system. De African name Cedi (1965–1967) dem introduce say efor come replace de old British pound system. Ghana ein first Presido Dr. Kwame Nkrumah come introduce de Cedi notes den Pesewa coins insyd July 1965 say efor replace de Ghanaian pounds, shillings den pence. De cedi dey carry de portrait of de President den ebe equivalent to eight shillings den four pence (8s 4d), i.e. one hundred old pence, so say 1 pesewa be equal to one penny.

After de February 1966 military coup, de new leaders wan remove de face of Nkrumah from de banknotes. De "new cedi" (1967–2007) dey worth 1.2 cedis, wey make am equal to half of pound sterling (or ten shillings sterling) as at de tym of ein introduction. Decades of high inflation devalue de new cedi, so dat in 2007 de largest of de "new cedi" banknotes, de 20,000 note, get value of about US$2. De new cedi gradually phase out insyd 2007 say e favor of de "Ghana cedi" for exchange rate of 1:10,000. By removing four digits, de Ghana cedi cam turn de highest-denominated currency unit dem issue insyd Africa. Ebe since den eloose over 90% of ein value.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

De word cedi be de Akan word give cowry shell. Dem formerly use Cowries (plural of cowry) for wat now be Ghana. De Monetaria moneta anaa money cowry no be native to West African waters but ebe common species for de Indian Ocean insyd. De porcelain-like shells cam West Africa, beginning of de 14th century insyd, thru trade plus Arab merchants. Dem produce de first modern coins dem use exclusively for de Gold Coast for 1796 insyd but dem use cowries alongside coins den gold dust as currency til 1901.^[1]

History[edit | edit source]

First cedi, 1965–1967[edit | edit source]

First cedi
Preceded by: Ghanaian pound Reason: decimalisation Ratio: 2.4 first cedi = 1 pound, anaa 1 pesewa = 1 penny	Currency of Ghana 19 July 1965 – 22 February 1967	Succeeded by: Second cedi Reason: convenience of exchange den opportunity make dem remove Kwame Nkrumah from coins den notes Ratio: 1 second cedi = 1.2 first cedis

Dem introduce de first cedi for 1965 insyd, dem replace de pound for rate of 2.4 cedi = 1 pound, anaa 1 pesewa = 1 penny. Dem peg de first cedi to sterling for rate of 2.4 cedis = £1, anaa 8s 4d per cedi.

Second cedi (GHC), 1967–2007[edit | edit source]

Second cedi (New cedi)
Preceded by: First cedi Reason: convenience of exchange den opportunity make dem remove Kwame Nkrumah from coins den notesRatio: 1 second cedi = 1.2 first cedis = 10 shillings	Currency of Ghana 23 February 1967 – 2 July 2007	Succeeded by: Third cedi Reason: inflationRatio: 1 third cedi = 10,000 second cedis

Third cedi (GHS), 2007–present[edit | edit source]

Third cedi (Ghanaian cedi)
Preceded by: Second cedi Reason: inflationRatio: 1 third cedi = 10,000 second cedis	Currency of Ghana 2 July 2007 – Present	Succeeded by: Current

Coins[edit | edit source]

First cedi (1965–67)[edit | edit source]

First cedi (Legal tender: 1965–67)
Image	Value	Description						Date of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Edge	Date of issue
	5 pesewas	Kwame Nkrumah (Lettering:) CIVITATIS GHANIENSIS CONDITOR (de Founder of Ghana) KWAME NKRUMAH	Five-pointed star (Lettering:) De value of de coin & 1965	Copper-nickel	4.1 g	22 mm	Smooth	19 July 1965
	10 pesewas				3.2 g	20 mm	Milled
	25 pesewas				8.65 g	27.4 mm	Milled
	50 pesewas				13.9 g	32 mm	Reeded

Second cedi[edit | edit source]

Second cedi (Legal tender: 1967–2007)
Image	Value	Description						Years of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Edge	Years of issue
	1⁄2 pesewa	Adowa drums (Lettering:) GHANA FREEDOM AND JUSTICE	Five-pointed star (Lettering:) De value of de coin & De year of issue	Bronze	2.9 g	20.2 mm	Smooth	1967
	1 pesewa	Adowa drums (Lettering:) GHANA FREEDOM AND JUSTICE		Bronze	5.72 g	25.47 mm		1967–1979
	2+1⁄2 pesewas	Cacao fruits (Lettering:) GHANA FREEDOM AND JUSTICE	De shield from de Coat of arms of Ghana (Lettering:) De value of de coin & De year of issue	Copper-nickel	3.2 g	19.5 mm		1967
	5 pesewas				2.85 g	19 mm	Reeded	1967–1975
	10 pesewas				5.6 g	23.5 mm		1967–1979
	20 pesewas				11.2 g	28 mm		1967–1979
	50 pesewas				12.5 g	32 mm	Milled	1979
	1 cedi	Cowry shell (Lettering:) GHANA FREEDOM AND JUSTICE		Brass	11.9 g	30 mm	Smooth	1979

Banknotes[edit | edit source]

First cedi (1965–67)[edit | edit source]

First cedi (Legal tender: 1965–67)
Image	Value	Description		Date of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue
	1 cedi	Kwame Nkrumah	Bank of Ghana	19 July 1965
	5 cedis		Supreme Court
	10 cedis		Independence Arch
	50 cedis		Seashore, Palms
	100 cedis		Kumasi Central Hospital
	1,000 cedis (Dem use for Interbanking Transactions per)	Black Star	Bank of Ghana

Second cedi (1967–2007)[edit | edit source]

1967 to 1979[edit | edit source]

Second cedi – 1st series (Legal tender: 1967–79)
Image	Value	Description		Years of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Years of issue
	1 cedi	Cocoa	Shield den sword	1967–1971
	5 cedis	Fauna carvings	Fauna carvings	1967–1969
	10 cedis	Art projects	Statuettes	1967–1970

Second cedi – 2nd series (Legal tender: 1972–79)
Image	Value	Description		Years of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Years of issue
	1 cedi	Young girl	Cocoa farmer	1973–1978
	2 cedis	Farmer	Fishermen	1972–78
	5 cedis	Woman	Larabanga mosque	1973–1978
	10 cedis	Pipe smoker	Akosombo Dam	1973–1978

1979 to 2007[edit | edit source]

Second cedi – 3rd series (Legal tender: 1979–2007)
Image	Value	Description		Years of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Years of issue
	1 cedi	Young man	Basket weaver	1979–1982
	2 cedis	Schoolgirl	Field workers
	5 cedis	Old man	Lumberers
	10 cedis	Young woman	Fishermen
	20 cedis	Miner	Kente weaver
	50 cedis (Dem demonetize am insyd 1982)	Old man	Cocoa farmers	1979–1980

Second cedi – 4th series (Legal tender: 1983–2007)
Image	Value	Description		Years of issue
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Obverse	Reverse	Start	End
	10 cedis	W. O. II Larbi, Fred Otoo, E. Kwasi Nukpor	Rural bank building	1984	1984
	20 cedis	Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa	Miner, army officer, student, demonstrators	1984	1986
	50 cedis	Young man	Workers drying grain	1983	1986
	100 cedis	Woman	Loading produce		1991
	200 cedis	Old man	Teacher den students		1993
	500 cedis	Black star, fist, den "Gye Nyame"	Cocoa den miner	1986	1994
	1,000 cedis	Diamonds	Cocoa harvest	1991	2003
	2,000 cedis	Adomi Bridge	Fishermen	1994	2006
	5,000 cedis	Coat of arms of Ghana	Cargo ships den logs	1994
	10,000 cedis	The Big Six	Independence Arch	2002
	20,000 cedis	Ephraim Amu	National Theatre of Ghana	2002

Third cedi (2007–present)[edit | edit source]

Third cedi
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description		First issued
Obverse & Reverse	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	First issued
	1 cedi	137 × 65 mm	Red	De Big Six, Independence Arch	Akosombo Dam	3 July 2007
	2 cedis	140 × 67 mm	Beige	Kwame Nkrumah	Parliament House	14 May 2010
	5 cedis	141 × 68 mm	Blue	The Big Six, Independence Arch	University of Ghana, The Balme Library	3 July 2007
	5 cedis	147 × 68 mm	Blue	James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey	Kwame Nkrumah vessel for Tweneboa, Enyenra, den Ntomme oil fields insyd	7 March 2017 (commemorative issue) 4 August 2017 (regular issue)
	10 cedis	145 × 71 mm	Yellow-green	The Big Six, Independence Arch	Bank of Ghana	3 July 2007
	20 cedis	149 × 74 mm	Purple		Supreme Court
	50 cedis	153 × 77 mm	Brown		Christiansborg Castle
	100 cedis	157 x 80 mm	Cyan	The Big Six, Independence Arch	Interior of de Parliament of Ghana	2 December 2019
	200 cedis	161 x 83 mm	Orange	The Big Six, Independence Arch	Jubilee House	2 December 2019

Exchange rate history[edit | edit source]

Historical values for one U.S. dollar for Ghanaian cedis insyd
Date	Cedi per U.S$.	Date	Cedi per U.S$.
First cedi (Cedi)
1965	0.824	1967	0.714
Second cedi (New cedi)
1970s	~1.000 (0.833 to 1.111)	1980	2.80 Bank rate (~20 Black market)
1983	30.00 Bank rate (~120 Black market) (Oct 83)	1984	35.00 (Mar 84) 38.50 (Aug 84) 50 (Dec 84)
1985	50 – 60	1986	90
1987	150 – 175	1988	175 – 230
1989	230 – 300	1990	300 – 345
1991	345 – 390	1992	390 – 520
1993	555 – 825	1994	825 – 1050
1995	1050–1450	1996	1450–1750
1997	1750 – 2250	1998	2250 – 2350
1999	2350 – 3550	2000	3550 – 6750
2001	6750 – 7300	2002	7300 – 8450
2003	8450 – 8850	2004	8850 – 8900
2005	8900 – 9500	2006	9500 – 9600
2007	9300 – 9600

*Ghana Cedi* (Third cedi)^[2]
Year	January 1	May 1	September 1	October 20
2008	0.930	1.005	1.155
2009	1.265	1.460	1.465
2010	1.430	1.425	1.440
2011	1.486	1.496	1.535
2012	1.639	1.855	1.932
2013	1.905	1.974	2.150
2014	2.353	2.823	3.723
2015	3.215	3.8479	3.8312
2016	3.8092	3.7895	3.9639
2022	6.20	7.55	10.05	13.10

References[edit | edit source]

[1] ttps://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/africa/the_wealth_of_africa/cowrie_shells_and_the_slave_tr.aspx

[2] ttps://freecurrencyrates.com/en/exchange-rate-history/USD-GHS/2013

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