Prior to the establishment of the West African Currency Board, Nigeria had
used various forms of money including cowries and manilas. Commodities were also
used as a form of exchange known as barter.
The West African Currency Board was responsible for issuing currency notes in
Nigeria from 1912 to 1959.
Name
Manila Dimension: Varies in Size Material: Pig Iron & Slag Period Used: up until 1700
Manila Dimension: Varies in Size Material: Pig Iron & Slag Period Used: up until 1700
Manila Dimension: Varies in Size Material: Pig Iron & Slag Period Used: up until 1600
Cowries Dimension: @ 0.5 In across Period Used: before 1700
The Cowry has, for centuries, served our people as an important form of
currency. In 1860 the following system was in use: 40 Cowries formed a "String";
50 Strings made a "head" and 10 heads comprised a "bag". In Lagos in 1865 one
bag of 20,000 shells was exchanged for one or two English Pounds.
National Clearing System Re-Visited:In January 1995, a revised clearing rule became operational to facilitate effective clearing of financial instruments and shorten the period of clearing.
Consequently, inter-state cheque clearing time was reduced from 21 days to 15 days, while intra-state clearing has been reduced from 12 days to 9 days.