During the period of colonisation, it was important for the colonisers to establish their presence and authority among their subjects. One way to reinforce this was to introduce a colonial currency. The design of banknotes and coins was a powerful way of sending out a message to a lot of people quickly. The last three are examples from transitional and post-independence periods for comparison.
British East Africa coin
Front and back of a British East Africa coin dated 1898.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=932293&partId=1&searchText=british+east+africa+coin&page=1Hong Kong coin
Front and back of a Hong Kong coin dated 1879.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=680465001&objectId=932293&partId=1British West Africa banknote
Front of a banknote from British West Africa from 1918.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=459595001&objectId=3110646&partId=1India coin
Front and back of a coin from India from 1918.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1654834&partId=1&searchText=king+rupee&images=true&page=1Jamaica penny
Front and back of a penny from Jamaica from 1871 .
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3107568&partId=1&searchText=jamaica+coin&images=true&page=1New Zealand banknote
Front and back of a New Zealand banknote from 1929, when New Zealand had the status of dominion rather than colony.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=146856001&objectId=972727&partId=1India banknote
Bank note from India depicting Gandhi and his salt march (1987 – 1990s).
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=1384196&objectId=3312562&partId=1#more-viewsCongo banknote
Post-independence banknote from the Congo.
See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1111860&partId=1&searchText=1984,0605.1718&page=1 http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/others/1000_franc_note-1.aspx