Liberian dollar

 

 

The first Liberian dollar was issued in 1847. It was pegged to the US dollar at par and circulated alongside the US dollar until 1907, when Liberia adopted the British West African pound, which was pegged to sterling.

In 1847 and 1862, copper 1 and 2 cents coins were issued and were the only Liberian coins until 1896, when a full coinage consisting of 1, 2, 10, 25 and 50 cents coins were introduced. The last issues were made in 1906.

The Treasury Department issued notes between 1857 and 1880 in denominations of 10 and 50 cents, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 dollars.

United States currency replaced the British West African pound in Liberia in 1935.^[3] Starting in 1937, Liberia issued its own coins which circulated alongside US currency.

The flight of suitcase-loads of USD paper by Americo-Liberians following the April 12, 1980, coup d'état created a currency shortage. This was remedied by minting of the Liberian $5 coins. The seven-sided coins were the same size and weight as the one-dollar coin; this prevented corrupt members of elite society leaving the country with Liberia's money.

In the late 1980s the coins were largely replaced with a newly designed $5 note modeled on the US greenback ("J. J. Roberts" notes). The design was modified during the 1990-2004 civil war to ostracize notes looted from the Central Bank of Liberia. This effectively created two currency zones—the new "Liberty" notes were legal tender in government-held areas (primarily Monrovia), while the old notes were legal tender in non-government areas. Each was not considered legal in the other territory. Following Charles Taylor's arrival in Monrovia in 1995, the J.J. Robert's bank notes were legally accepted in most parts of Monrovia for purchases. Banking and some majors institutions did not accept the J.J. Robert's bank note as legal tender during this period.

Following the election of the Charles Taylor government in 1997 a new series of banknotes dated 1999 was introduced on March 29, 2000.

 

In 1937, coins were issued in denominations of 1⁄2, 1 and 2 cents. These were augmented in 1960 with coins for 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents. A $1 coin was issued the following year. Five-dollar coins were issued in 1982 and 1985 (see above). According to the 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins (Krause Publications, Iola, WI), numerous commemorative coins (featuring U.S. Presidents, dinosaurs, Chinese Lunar-Zodiac animals, etc.) in denominations ranging from 1 to 2500 Dollars have been issued beginning in the 1970s through the present.^[4]

Five-dollar notes were introduced in 1989 which bore the portrait of J. J. Roberts. These were known as "J. J." notes. In 1991, similar notes were issued (see above) which replaced the portrait with Liberia's arms. These were known as "Liberty" notes.

On 29 March 2000, the Central Bank of Liberia introduced a new "unified" currency, which was exchanged at par for "J. J." notes and at a ratio of 1:2 for "Liberty" notes. The new banknotes each feature a portrait of a former president. These notes remain in current use, although they underwent a minor redesign in 2003, with new dates, signatures, and the CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA banner on the back.^[5]

On 27 July 2016, the Central Bank of Liberia announced new banknotes will be introduced with enhanced security features. All of the denominations are the same as previous issues, with the L$500 banknote being introduced as part of this series.^[6] On 6 October 2016, the Central Bank of Liberia introduced new banknotes, as announced.^[7]

On 17 November 2021, the Central Bank of Liberia announced a new series of banknotes, omitting the L$5 and L$10 banknotes which have been replaced by coins, along with an entirely new denomination, the L$1000.^[8]

1999 series
Images	Value	Background color	Description			Date of
Obverse & reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	first series	Issue
	L$5	Red	President Edward J. Roye	Woman harvesting rice	Seal of Liberia	1999	March 29, 2000
	L$10	Blue	President Joseph J. Roberts	Rubber tapper	Seal of Liberia	1999	March 29, 2000
	L$20	Brown	President William V. S. Tubman	Young men by the road with scooters	Seal of Liberia	1999	March 29, 2000
	L$50	Purple	President Samuel K. Doe	Worker on a palm plantation	Seal of Liberia	1999	March 29, 2000
	L$100	Green	President William R. Tolbert Jr.	Market woman and her child	Seal of Liberia	1999	March 29, 2000

2016 series
Images		Value	Background color	Description			Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	first series	Issue
		L$5	Purple	President Edward J. Roye	Woman harvesting rice	Seal of Liberia	2016	2016
		L$10	Blue	President Joseph J. Roberts	Rubber tapper	Seal of Liberia	2016	2016
		L$20	Brown	President William V. S. Tubman	Young men by the road with scooters	Seal of Liberia	2016	2016
		L$50	Red	President Samuel K. Doe	Worker on a palm plantation	Seal of Liberia	2016	2016
		L$100	Green	President William R. Tolbert Jr.	Market woman and her child	Seal of Liberia	2016	2016
[9]		L$500	Violet	Men and woman	Hippopotamus and its child	Seal of Liberia	2016	2016

• Central Bank of Liberia
• Economy of Liberia

•   Media related to Money of Liberia at Wikimedia Commons
• Liberian banknotes (archived 14 June 2007)
• Liberian banknotes on BanknoteNews