Sierra Leonean leone

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Sierra Leonean leone

ISO 4217 code	SLL
Central bank	Bank of Sierra Leone
Website	www.bsl.gov.sl
User(s)	Sierra Leone
Inflation	11.7%
Source	The World Factbook, 2007 est.
Subunit
1/100	cent
Symbol	Le
Coins	10, 50, 100, 500 leones
Banknotes	1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000 leones

The leone is the currency of Sierra Leone. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The ISO 4217 code is SLL and the leone is abbreviated as Le placed before the amount.

History

The leone was introduced on 4 August 1964. It replaced the British West African pound at a rate of 1 pound = 2 leones (i.e., 1 leone = 10 shillings).^[1]

For an earlier Sierra Leone currency, see Sierra Leonean dollar.

Coins

In 1964, decimal coins were introduced in denominations of ½, 1, 5, 10 and 20 cents. The coins size and compositions were based in part on those of the former colonial state British West Africa. All bore the portrait of the first president of Sierra Leone, Sir Milton Margai. In 1972, 50 cents coins were introduced which carried the portrait of the succeeding president Dr. Siaka Stevens. In 1974, round cupro-nickel one leone coins were introduced and in 1976, seven sided cupro-nickel 2 leone coins commemorating FAO were introduced. These latter two denominations, however, did not circulate as frequently as the lower cent denominations. The portrait of Stevens also appeared on a new, slightly smaller series of coins introduced in 1980 in denominations of ½, 1, 5, 10 and 20 cents. In 1987, octagonal, nickel-bronze 1 leone coins were introduced with a bust portrait of General Joseph Saidu Momoh. This coin effectively replaced the one leone note.

Following a period of economic collapse and the following Sierra Leone Civil War inflation became rampant, devaluing older coins. A new coin series was introduced in 1996 for 10, 50 and 100 leones. The 50 leones is octagonal while the other two are round. These coins were struck in nickel plated steel and feature important figures in Sierra Leone's political history. Ten sided, bimetallic 500 leones coins were first introduced in 2004. Of the four coins in circulation, only the 100 leones is available in small quantity due to their low valuation and shortage of supply.

500 leones coins and the two lowest denominations are rarely encountered due to rampant metal theft in the impoverished country.

1 leone 1987

Coat of arms	Joseph Saidu Momoh

Banknotes

In 1964, the Bank of Sierra Leone introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 leones. These officially replaced notes of the British West African pound at a two leone to one pound exchange ratio. 50 cents notes were introduced in 1979, followed by 10 leones in 1980 and 20 leones notes in 1982. Throughout this period the value of the currency was fixed and remained relatively stable despite inherent economic problems.

100 leones notes were introduced in 1988, followed by 500 leones in 1991, 1000 and 5000 leones in 1993, 2000 leones in the year 2000 and 10,000 Leone in 2004.

All pre civil war notes (1964-1991) depicted the head of state during the time of issue. The first series depicting Sir Milton Margai and later issues depicting either Siaka and Momoh. This practice ended with the ascension of the NPRC regime and has remained so despite the return to civilian government.

Prior to June 2010, bank notes in circulation were 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10,000 leones. 10,000 leones notes were in circulation for less than ten years and were infrequently encountered. This meant that most transactions took place in bundles of 5000 leones notes.

In June 2010, the Bank of Sierra Leone issued new notes which were slightly smaller in size than the earlier series and intended to be more secure and durable. The new bank notes are: Le10,000, Le5,000, Le2,000 and Le1,000.^[2] Coins are still used, but because of their low value are less common.

Because of inflation, a 20,000 leone banknote has been suggested.

2010 Series
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of issue	Date of first issue	Watermark
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue	Date of first issue	Watermark
	1000 leones	135 x 67 mm	Red and yellow	Bai Bureh; Coat of arms of Sierra Leone	Telecommunications satellite dish	27th April 2010	May 14, 2010	Lion head and electrotype 1000
	2000 leones	140 x 69 mm	Blue and orange	Isaac Theophilus Akunna Wallace-Johnson, cargo ship; Coat of arms of Sierra Leone	Bank of Sierra Leone building, Freetown	27th April 2010	May 14, 2010	Lion head and electrotype 2000
	5000 leones	145 x 71 mm	Blue and purple	Sengbe Pieh; Coat of arms of Sierra Leone	Bumbuna hydroelectric dam	27th April 2010	May 14, 2010	Lion head and electrotype 5000
	10,000 leones	153 x 73 mm	Blue and green	Dove flying over the map of Sierra Leone, Flag of Sierra Leone	Poplar tree (Populus trichocarpa); Coat of arms of Sierra Leone	27th April 2010	May 14, 2010	Lion head and electrotype 10000

Specimen notes

Specimen notes are issued to banks to familiarize the local inhabitants with any currency changes. These are issued by Thomas De La Rue of the UK.

Current SLL exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

References

↑ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Sierra Leone". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
↑ Sierra Leone resized note family confirmed BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.

Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.

External links

banknote serie

v t e Economy of Sierra Leone

Currency: Sierra Leonean leone

Communications	Banking Communications History of trade Transportation

Industries:	Agriculture Palm oil Sugar Citrus Cocoa Coffee Coconut Mining Tourism

v t e Currencies of Africa

North	Algerian dinar Egyptian pound Euro Plazas de soberanía Libyan dinar Mauritanian ouguiya Moroccan dirham Sahrawi peseta Sudanese pound Tunisian dinar

Central	Angolan kwanza Burundian franc Central African CFA franc Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon Congolese franc Rwandan franc

East	Comorian franc Djiboutian franc Eritrean nakfa Ethiopian birr Kenyan shilling Seychellois rupee Somali shilling Somaliland shilling (unrecognized) South Sudanese pound Tanzanian shilling Ugandan shilling

South	Botswana pula Zimbabwe British pound sterling Saint Helena Zimbabwe Euro French Southern and Antarctic Lands Mayotte Réunion Zimbabwe Lesotho loti Malagasy ariary Malawian kwacha Mauritian rupee Mozambican metical Namibian dollar Saint Helena pound South African rand Lesotho Namibia Swaziland Zimbabwe Swazi lilangeni U.S. dollar Zimbabwe Zambian kwacha Zimbabwean dollar (defunct due to hyperinflation)

West	Cape Verdean escudo Euro Canary Islands Madeira Gambian dalasi Ghana cedi Guinean franc Liberian dollar Nigerian naira São Tomé and Príncipe dobra Sierra Leonean leone West African CFA franc Benin Burkina Faso Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Mali Niger Senegal Togo

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