The currency in Ghana is called Cedi and is divided into Pesewas. A cedi is worth exactly 100 pesewas, similar to the euro and the cent. According to the ISO standard, the currency is abbreviated as GHS and a crossed-out C is used as the usual currency symbol.
The name of the currency dates back to the Middle Ages. At the time, cowrie shells were being traded in Ghana and many other parts of Africa. The name of the currency came from the African word “sedi”, which means kauri.
History of the currency of Ghana
The Cedi was introduced as the official currency in Ghana in 1965. After a coup in the country, the second cedi was finally introduced. The introduction was aimed at the desire of the people to remove the old president from the coins and banknotes.
In 2007 a new, third cedi was introduced. The reason was the extremely high inflation of the currency, which is why the Cedi was devalued by a factor of 10,000 this year.
With the introduction, the government had hoped for a positive effect on the microeconomy, which unfortunately has not occurred to this day. The bid price of the new third cedi has decreased by roughly a factor of two over the past few years.
Hints
Anyone traveling to Ghana in Africa should think about the country’s currency before entering the country. It is often difficult to find your way around a new currency abroad at the beginning.
Unfortunately, tricksters often take advantage of this by giving too little change and taking advantage of the ignorance of the newcomers. So that this doesn’t happen to you, you should take a closer look at Ghana’s currency.
The exchange rate
Currently, the value of the cedi currency is around 22 cents. This means that one euro is equivalent to 4.58 cedi. For the approximate conversion in Ghana you can divide the price in cedi by either four or five. Divide by four, the price is a little too high. If you divide by five, the actual price is slightly higher than the calculated price.