From West African money to the Nigerian pound
The CBN records that West African Currency Board notes and coins circulated from 1912 until the CBN issued Nigerian currency on 1 July 1959. Nigeria still used pounds, shillings and pence rather than naira.
Banknote designs changed after independence and again in 1968 during the civil war. A design change can identify which note a source describes, but it does not tell us how much everyday spending that amount would cover today.
| Period | Money system | Calculator treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 1912–1959 | West African pounds, shillings and pence | History only |
| 1959–1972 | Nigerian pound | History only |
| From 1973 | Naira and kobo | Supported NGN period |
What changed on 1 January 1973
The official 1973 currency issue states that ₦1 was equivalent to ten shillings and that 100 kobo made one naira. Since one pound contained twenty shillings, £1 became ₦2 when the unit changed.
That rule only changes pounds into naira at the 1973 switch. It does not say what one Nigerian pound from 1959 would buy today. Answering that question needs reliable price records from the period and must account for the change in currency.
- 10 shillings became ₦1 at the currency switch
- At the 1973 change, £1 became ₦2
- That rule alone does not show what the old amount would buy today
Old spending and an old note’s market price are different
For a pre-1973 salary or shop price, keep the original pound or shilling notation and consult period-specific prices and wages. The NGN calculator starts only once the naira exists.
A surviving note may also have a collector price based on rarity, issue and condition. That market price is separate from both the 1973 change of currency unit and what households could buy with the amount at the time.