Photo of the Week: Nigeria's Half Kobo Coin

 

In 1973, 13 years after Nigeria gained its independence from British rule, the nation's currency of pounds, shillings and pence were replaced with the naira and kobo. Among the kobo coins introduced was the half-kobo coin.

The Half-Kobo coin existed for only a year. However, the choice of featuring cotton flowers on it symbolised Cotton's status as Nigeria's star crop at the time. Cotton was valuable in many ways: 

-As raw material for textile industries, which, as the second leading employer of labour, provided jobs 

-Cotton seed oil, which was valuable for cooking in many households 

- The cottonseed meal, which was used as animal feed.