The Portuguese established a port in Freetown in 1495. British abolitionists organized the Sierra Leone Company, founded Freetown in 1787, as a settlement for freed and runaway slaves. After the British Parliament made the slave trade illegal in 1807, the government took over the settlement as a base for naval operations against the slave trade, and the area around Freetown became a British colony on January 1, 1808. The interior became a British protectorate in 1896. Sierra Leone gained its independence on April 27, 1961, and became a republic on April 19, 1971.
The Sierra Leone Company issued some banknotes and coins between 1791 and 1805, and the Sierra Leone government issued some banknotes in 1808. The Spanish Dollar was made the official unit of account on January 1, 1796 and the coins were issued in denominations of dollars and pennies. The Pound Sterling was reintroduced as the unit of account on November 30, 1808. The Spanish Dollar was used until around 1880, British coins after 1825, and the French 5 Franc coin after 1843. Spanish Dollars were used in Nigeria with 4 Spanish Dollars equal to 1 British Pound Sterling to September 30, 1843 and 4.80 Spanish Dollars equal to 1 Pound Sterling until it was demonetized on May 11, 1880.
On July 1, 1913, the West African Currency Board was established originally to issue coins, but the Constitution was revised in November 1915 to allow for the issue of Pound (XWAP) banknotes at par with the British Pound Sterling. The British West African coins replaced the foreign coins that had circulated in Sierra Leone until then.
After gaining its independence, Sierra Leone introduced the Sierra Leone Leone (SLL) as its national currency with 2 Leone equal to 1 Pound. The Leone is divisible into 100 Cents. The Bank of Sierra Leone is the sole note-issuing authority for Sierra Leone. |
