Money in Africa

Project leader: Catherine Eagleton

Department: Coins and Medals

Project start: April 2006
End date: 2012-13

Other British Museum staff: Amelia Dowler, Artemis Manolopoulou, Elizabeth Galvin

Description:

By combining numismatics, economics, international relations and anthropology, this project will explore the history and politics of Africa through the story of its money. From ancient trans-Saharan salt routes to modern-day hyperinflation, the project will show how money has influenced and changed the continent’s rich history.

The project was conceived as drawing the different aspects of the subject into a coherent whole, and involving both original research, and a bringing together existing and current work to tell the story of Africa. By using money as a lens to understand the greater history, we are able to view how the concepts of money and commodity have shaped the continent, as well as better understand the issues facing Africa today.

Images (from top):

• Steel 20 cedis coin showing a cowrie shell. African money shown on a European-style coin. Ghana, West Africa, AD 1991

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