Equatorial Guinean ekwele
former Equatorial Guinean currency
The ekwele or ekuele was the currency of Equatorial Guinea between 1975 and 1985. Although nominally divided into 100 céntimos, no subdivisions were issued. The name ekuele (plural the same) was used until 1979, whilst ekwele (plural bipkwele) was used after. The renaming of the currency to "ekwele" from "peseta" was motivated largely by a sweeping Africanization program meant to rid the country of its colonial past by removing Spanish names and references from the public domain; the ekpele was a pre-colonial iron currency used by the Fang and Beti people.
The ekuele replaced the peseta guineana at par, whilst the ekwele was replaced by the Central African CFA franc (written franco on Equatorial Guinean coins and banknotes) at a rate of 1 Franco = 4 bipkwele.
Coins
The first ekuele coins were issued in 1975. All denominations depicted the first president Francisco Macías Nguema on the obverse and allegorical motifs on the reverse. These were aluminum-bronze 1 ekuele and copper nickel 5 and 10 ekuele denominations. In 1980 and 1981, coins of 1 ekwele, 5, 25 and 50 bipkwele were issued, replacing the previous coins which were then withdrawn from circulation. The smallest denomination was again issued in aluminum-bronze while the higher denominations were in copper nickel.
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