5 Cedis 1965, Ghana
| in Krause book | Number: 6a |
| Years of issue: | 19.05.1965 - 22.02.1967 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Governor: William Marmon Quao Halm (in office from 05.10.1962 to 13.08.1965) |
| Serie: | 1965 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 01.07.1958 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 146 х 70 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
The Right Honorable Kwame Nkrumah.
Avers:
Centered is the coat of arms of Ghana.
The coat of arms of Ghana was designed by Ghanaian artist Amon Kotei and was introduced on 4 March 1957.
Description:
The first quarter, on the upper left shows a sword used by chiefs, and a staff, used by the linguist (known as an okyeame in Akan), at ceremonies. It is a symbol for the traditional authority of Ghana.
The second quarter shows a representation of Osu Castle on the sea, the presidential palace on the Gulf of Guinea, symbolizes the national government.
The third quarter of the shield shows a cacao tree, which embodies the agricultural wealth of Ghana.
The fourth quarter shows a gold mine, which stands for the richness of industrial minerals and natural resources in Ghana.
A gold lion centred on a green St George's Cross with gold fimbriation on the field of blue, represents the continuing link between Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The crest is a Black star of Africa with gold outline, upon a torse in the national colours.
Supporting the shield are two golden Tawny eagles, with the Order of the Star of Ghana suspended from their necks.
The compartment upon which the supporters stand is composed of a grassy field, under which a scroll bears the national motto of Ghana: Freedom and Justice. 
Top, right is an effigy of the first president of Ghana - Kwame Nkrumah.
Kwame Nkrumah PC (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An influential advocate of pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962. "There is little doubt that, quite consciously, Nkrumah saw himself as an African Lenin. He wanted to go down in history as a major political theorist—and he wanted a particular stream of thought to bear his own name. Hence the term 'Nkrumahism' - a name for an ideology that he hoped would assume the same historic and revolutionary status as 'Leninism'."
After twelve years abroad pursuing higher education, developing his political philosophy and organizing with other diasporic pan-Africanists, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast to begin his political career as an advocate of national independence. He formed the Convention People's Party, which achieved rapid success through its unprecedented appeal to the common voter. He became Prime Minister in 1952 and retained the position when Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957. In 1960, Ghanaians approved a new constitution and elected Nkrumah President.
His administration was both nationalist and socialist. Thus, it funded national industrial and energy projects, developed a strong national education system and promoted a national and pan-African culture. Under Nkrumah, Ghana played a leading role in African international relations during the decolonization period.
In 1964, a constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state, with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation and its party. Nkrumah was deposed in 1966 by the National Liberation Council which under the supervision of international financial institutions privatized many of the country's state corporations. Nkrumah lived the rest of his life in Guinea, of which he was named honorary co-president.
Friday, June 11th 1965.
Footage of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah being sworn-in for another term as President of Ghana. He was accompanied to Parliament House, the venue of the ceremony, by his Egyptian-born wife Fathia.
Dr. Nkrumah, who was seated on a golden throne while holding the state sword, was sworn in by the Chief Justice of the nation, Julius Sarkodee-Adoo. He swore alliegiance to Ghana and promised to preserve and defend the constitution. Nkrumah decalred that "freedom and justice should be honoured and maintained", and asserted that "the union of Africa be striven for by every lawful means."
Denominations in numerals are on right side and in top left corner, in words - centered.
Revers:
The Parliament building in Accra, Ghana and monument to Kwame Nkrumah in front of it.
The location of Ghana’s Parliament has changed over the years. The King George V Memorial Hall, a recreational centre for residents of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, was refurbished to house the very First Parliament of the First Republic in July 1960.
Four years after fire destroyed portions of the Old Parliament House opposite the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum in Accra, in September 2017 portions of the building have been demolished to pave way for the construction of a new one. (citifmonline.com)
Unlike the considerably larger, gold-coloured sculpture of Nkrumah, majestically clad in an Ashanti kente cloth that was later commissioned for the mausoleum, the original Nkrumah statue can be described as almost modest and of human dimensions. Nkrumah is dressed not in royal attire, but in a worker’s or farmer’s smock. He stands stepping forward, with his right arm raised in greeting, the palm facing forward, and his left hand holding a walking stick. The contrapposto that sculptor Cataudella employed - first developed in classical Greek statues, the counterpoise had become a time-honoured convention in European sculpture - gives the figure a dynamic, and at the same time relaxed, appearance. The Garibaldi monument on Janiculum Hill in Rome, a huge equestrian statue, was consulted for the inscription, but certainly did not serve as a model for the Nkrumah sculpture. Cataudella may have drawn some inspiration from the Augustus of Primaporta statue in the Vatican museum, which shows the Roman emperor making a similar gesture, raising the right hand in salute. Quite clearly, however, the pose that Cataudella chose for the statue reproduces the one that Nkrumah adopted when he declared “Ghana, your beloved country is free forever.” This moment was captured in a press photograph that rapidly became the icon of independence, and has since then been reproduced innumerable times, on posters, calendars and stamps. It is very likely that, contrary to the declarations he made to reassure his clients, Cataudella produced the final model of the statue after March 1957, and had seen this image. That the statue was to immortalise the very moment of declaring independence was also borne out in the inscription on the rear of the pedestal that quoted Nkrumah’s independence speech: “To me the liberation of Ghana will be meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.”
The opposition in Ghana, however, was convinced neither by any explanations nor more generally by the Convention People’s Party (cpp) government’s politics, and continued to accuse Nkrumah of dictatorial leanings. Some critics went beyond verbal and written protests, and took to violent measures. From the end of 1958 on, Nkrumah became an almost regular target of bomb attacks and other assassination attempts. One bomb attack that received worldwide publicity targeted not Nkrumah himself, but his statue in front of Parliament. It happened on 5 November 1961, shortly before Queen Elizabeth ii and her husband were to visit Ghana. Clearly, the persons behind the attack, “certain unpatriotic elements,” as the Minister of Constructions and Communications called them,38 aimed at preventing the royal visit and showing the world that Ghanaians did not respect Nkrumah as a legitimate head of state. However, after a British inspection of the security situation gave a green light, the Queen’s eleven-day stay, with parades on the newly built Black Star Square, visits to many public institutions, garden parties, and a tour through various of Ghana’s regions, took place as scheduled. (journals.openedition.org)
The Nkrumah regime was overthrown in February 1966. One of the first measures of the new military government was to ban all images of the former president from the public sphere, rename streets that bore Nkrumah’s name, burn Nkrumah’s books, and forbid all cpp symbols and paraphernalia. The statue in front of Parliament House was of particular symbolic importance. Newspaper reports insinuated that an angry mob attacked and pulled the statue down, and a press photograph showed a group of children standing around the decapitated sculpture. In the account of the coup that he wrote from his Guinean exile, however, Nkrumah (in 1968) insisted that the alleged spontaneity of the destruction of his effigy was a propaganda ploy of the coup makers who wanted to convince the world of the unpopularity of his regime. Indeed, the large hole in the right leg of the headless statue, which now stands behind the Nkrumah mausoleum, suggests that explosives were used to bring the statue down.51 Be that as it may, the statue “disappeared” from the public eye, but only for a little more than a decade.
From September 1, 2009, the head and the monument itself are located in the courtyard of the Nkrumah Mausoleum, in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Comments:
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
-
PayPal