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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) on Friday unveiled a commemorative GHc 5 banknote to mark the 60th anniversary of coming into being of the Central Bank.

The BoG was established on 4th March 1957, breaking away from the colonial yoke of the four-state West African Currency Board.

The note, which comes with a new pulsating shine when tilted, will come into circulation on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
“It is in a new smaller size for ease of handling and contains a host of modern security and informational features,” Mr Dominic Owusu of the BOG Currency Department said at the unveiling ceremony.

Mr Owusu said the currency would be used alongside the old GHc5 note.

However, he said, the new note is smaller in size for ease of handling and also contains many modern security features
The new banknote displays an engraved portrait of Dr James Kwegyir Aggrey, the famous educationist and missionary, who lived from October 18, 1875 to July 30, 1927.

Dr. James Kwegyir Aggrey contributed immensely to education to the then Gold Coast.
The portrait is visible from both sides of the note when it is held towards light. The note also has tactile markings to assist the visually impaired along with an intaglio portrait.

The commemorative note is coloured blue like the existing GHC5 note and the reverse side features a seaborne oil-drilling rig in the Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) offshore field.

Also illustrated are themes such as gold bars, the cocoa pod, and the coconut among others.

Mr Owusu said for the first time the banknote has a Quick Response (QR) Code readable by a mobile phone application, which leads instantly to a special Bank of Ghana website that explains the details of this and other national banknotes.

Unveiling the GHC5 Banknote, Dr Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, said the Bank decided to use the portrait of an eminent personality Dr James Kwegyir Aggrey because of his contribution to the education and development to the country.

He urged the public to support the BoG to keep the banknotes clean always.