Timeline

• Cowrie shells were used for small transactions but also bound together into "strings" of 40 pieces and collected into "heads" of 50 strings and "bags" of 10 heads:
  - The Cowries depreciated over time due to massive importation: 1 "Head" = 57½ Pence Sterling (c. 1851), = 24 Pence Sterling (c. 1860), = 12 Pence Sterling (c. 1876), = 6 Pence Sterling (c. 1895)
  - After the introduction of the Nigerian coinage, the Cowries were banned and replaced at a rate of ¹⁄₁₀Penny per string (or 5 Pence per head).
• Manillas existed in various forms and sizes and were predominantly traded by weight. In the late 19th century, Manillas were produced in Great Britain and imported massively so that the hand-made pieces quickly disappeared.
  - ??.??.1902: Ordinance [Native Currency Proclamation, No. 14] for Southern Nigeria, bans the import of Manillas and restricts their usage to 5 types of British industrial production; effective immediately
  - ??.??.1911: Ordinance on the demonetization of the Manillas; could not be implemented and was partly repealed by the ordinance [Manilla Currency] of 1919 which allowed their use among the natives
  - 30.08.1948: Ordinance [Manilla Prohibition] on the demonetization of the Manillas and exchange per weight; effective 31.03.1949

Timeline

• around 1860
• Issuance of a token of ¹⁄₄₀₀ Spanish Dollar (= ⅛ Penny Sterling) by MacGregor Laird's commercial agency in Obo, Laird's Port (today: Onitsha) and Laird's Town (today: Gbebe); they were probably not brought to Africa during Laird's lifetime († 1861), but possibly circulated later throughout Lagos Colony.
• 11.05.1880
• Proclamation of the Gold Coast's Demonetisation Ordinance, No. 2 of 29.04.1880, declares exclusive legal tender status; effective immediately (?):
  - British gold and silver coins
  - Spanish and Latin American 8 Escudos (in gold) at 64 Shillings Sterling
  - 20 French Francs (in gold) at 15⁵⁄₆ Shillings Sterling
  - 10 US Dollars (in gold) at 41 Shillings Sterling.
• 1898-1902
• Introduction of British coinage:
  - 03.02.1898: Ordinance [Order in Council], declares the British Coinage Acts, 1870 & 1891 in force in Lagos; effective 26.04.1898
  - 19.11.1902: Ordinance [Order in Council], declares the British Coinage Acts, 1870 & 1891 in force in the Northern and Southern protectorates; effective immediately (?)
• 28.07.1906
• Ordinance [Nigeria Coinage Order], introduced local subsidiary coins of 1 Penny in copper-nickel and ¹⁄₁₀ Penny in aluminium beside British coinage (but replacing the British coppers which were not popular and corroded in the Central African climate), in Southern and Northern Nigeria; effective 01.07.1907; amendments:
  - 09.09.1907: Ordinance [Nigeria Coinage Order], reduced the weight of the Penny coin; effective 01.12.1907
  - 19.10.1908: Ordinance [Nigeria Coinage Order], replaced the aluminium alloy of the ¹⁄₁₀ Penny coin by copper-nickel; effective immediately
• 07.05.1913
• Ordinance [Nigeria Coinage Order] on the adoption of the British West African currency; effective immediately

Timeline

• 04.03.1957
• Law [Central Bank Act, No. 24] on the establishment of a central bank and creation of a national currency; effective 01.07.1959
• 01.07.1959
• Start of currency exchange:
  - 01.07.1959: Start of issuance of the new banknotes and coins
  - 30.06.1962: End of exchange period, demonetization of the West African currency.
• 03.01.1968
• Exchange of banknotes after the Biafran secession:
  - 03.01.1968: Per person a maximum of 10 Pounds were exchanged into new banknotes, higher cash amounts had to be deposited at the Exchange Control Authority
  - 12.01.1968: End of exchange period, demonetization of the old banknotes (in April 1968, the procedure was repeated in territories that were recovered from secessionist Biafra).

Valuation Regimes

• 1959-1967
• Fixed rate against British Pound
• 1967-1972
• Fixed rate against US Dollar

Timeline

• 31.03.1971
• Law [Central Bank of Nigeria (Amendment) Act, No. 46] on the decimalization of the currency; effective 01.01.1973
• 01.01.1973
• Start of currency exchange:
  - 01.01.1973: Start of issuance of the new banknotes and coins
  - ??.??.????: End of exchange period, demonetization of the former currency.
• 25.04.1984
• Exchange of all banknotes higher than ½ Naira:
  - 25.04.1984: Per Nigerian resident a maximum of 5000 Nairas was exchanged into new banknotes (the threshold was subsequently lowered to 500 Nairas), higher cash amounts had to be deposited and were released only after proof of legitimacy
  - 06.05.1984: End of exchange period, demonetization of the old banknotes (including all amounts held abroad).

Valuation Regimes

• 1973-1974
• Fixed rate against US Dollar
• 1974-1993
• Variable rate
• 1993-1995
• Fixed rate against US Dollar
• 1995-
• Variable (inter-bank) rate