Equatorial Guinea Coins

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Obverse of 1992 Equatorial Guinea 15,000 Francos

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Reverse of 1992 Equatorial Guinea 15,000 Francos

Pre-colonial History
The area now known as Equatorial Guinea was first populated by Pygmies, who still exist within the country in small numbers. The chief native group within the country was the Beti-Pahuin peoples. Although Britain had a naval based there from the 1820s-1840s, there was not a serious attempt to colonised the area until the Spanish arrived in 1885 during the scramble for Africa to settle there.

Spanish Colonial History
The mainland portion, known as Rio Muni, was turned from a protectorate into a colony in 1900. In 1926, Spanish territories in the area were united and named Spanish Guinea. During the Spanish Civil War, the authorities remained initially loyal to the Republic until a Spanish Nationalist revolt in the colony turned Spanish Guinea to the Nationalist cause. In 1959, a political reform gave Spanish Guinea representation in the Spanish Parliament, although pressure for independence remained strong. In 1963, the colony was given partial autonomy and its own elected legislature. Ironically, this gave Spanish Guinea multi-party representation when its own motherland was living under a single party dictatorship.

Independence
In 1968, Spanish Guinea became independent and was renamed Equatorial Guinea. Its first president, Francisco Macías Nguema, turned out to be a semi-educated, genocidal psychopath whose rambling, economically illiterate policies drove out foreign investment and whose violent habits of wiping out the families and even villages of those who opposed him, as well as ordering mass executions in football stadiums, which took place as his favourite Mary Hopkins records, led to Equatorial Guinea acquiring the sobriquet 'The Dachau of Africa'. Nevertheless, he remained in power until 1979, when he was finally overthrown and executed on the orders of his own nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, after some amongst his family and inner circle suspected he might not have been the best person to run the country when he started ordering the execution of many of their number.

Modern History
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been president of Equatorial Guinea ever since, and although as brutal and oppressive as any other African dictatorship, is nevertheless a huge improvement over that of his Uncle. In 1993, even the Ambassador of the United States of America John Bennett, was forced to flee for his life when the president accused him of witchcraft. In 2004, a plot to oust him with the aid of British and South African mercenaries failed, leading to the imprisonment of ex-SAS officer Simon Mann.

Coinage of Equatorial Guinea
During Spanish Rule, The Spanish Peseta was the official currency of what is now Equatorial Guinea. In 1969, this was replaced at par by the Guinean Peseta, which was itself replaced by the ekwele at par in 1975. All of these currencies were subdivided into 100 Centimos, although this was only theoretical by the time Ekwele arrived and thus the lowest denominated coin in this currency was the ekwele, followed by the 5, 10, 25 and 50 bipkwele (bipkwele being plural for ekwele). In 1985, Mbasogo decided to take Equatorial Guinea into the Central African CFA Franc, along with Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo and Cameroon. For this currency, coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs are issued.

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Equatorial Guinea Coins

Gold Coins
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Equatorial Guinea Gold Coins