Malawian pound facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Malawian pound |
|
|---|---|
| User(s) | Malawi |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄20 | shilling |
| 1⁄240 | penny |
| Symbol | £ |
| shilling | s or /– |
| penny | d |
| Coins | 1d, 6d, 1/–, 2/–, 2/6 |
| Banknotes | 5/–, 10/–, £1, £5 |
The pound was the money used in Malawi until 1971. Before 1964, Malawi was known as Nyasaland. From 1932, Nyasaland used the Southern Rhodesian pound.
Later, in 1955, a new currency called the Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound was introduced. After Malawi became an independent country in 1964, it started using its own Malawian pound.
The Malawian pound was divided into smaller units. One pound was equal to 20 shillings. Each shilling was then divided into 12 pence. In 1971, the pound was replaced by a new currency called the Malawian kwacha. This change was part of a process called decimalisation, which made money calculations simpler. Two kwacha were equal to one pound.
Coins of the Malawian Pound
In 1964, Malawi released its first coins. These coins were made from a metal mix called copper-nickel. They came in several values: 6 pence, 1 shilling, 2 shillings, and 2 shillings 6 pence.
All these coins showed a picture of Hastings Banda. He was a very important leader in Malawi. Later, in 1967, 1 penny coins were also introduced. The 1 penny coin had a smooth edge. All the other coins had special ridges on their edges.
Banknotes of the Malawian Pound
On July 6, 1964, Nyasaland became independent from Britain. It was then renamed Malawi. For two years, Elizabeth II was still the head of state as the Queen of Malawi.
In 1966, Malawi became a republic. This meant it no longer had a queen as its head of state. Instead, it had a president. Hastings Kamuzu Banda became the president. He led the country until 1994.
President Banda's picture was on the front of all banknotes issued during his time in office. The pictures on the back of the notes often showed scenes of farming. This was to highlight how important agriculture was to Malawi's economy.
The banknotes also had special security features. These included watermarks and later, registration devices. These features often showed a rooster. The rooster was the symbol of Banda's political party, the Malawi Congress Party. The first series of banknotes was released in 1964 by the Reserve Bank of Malawi. These notes came in values of 5 shillings, 10 shillings, 1 pound, and 5 pounds.
