Ghanaian Cedi country flag

Ghanaian Cedi

GHS

GH¢
Euro country flag

Euro

EUR

Ghanaian Cedi
The cedi ( SEE-dee, pronounced in the same way as CD; currency sign: GH₵; currency code: GHS) is the unit of currency of Ghana. It is the fourth historical and only current legal tender in the Republic of Ghana. One Cedi is divided into one hundred Pesewas (Gp). After independence in 1957, Ghana separated itself from the British West African pound, which was the currency of the British colonies in the region. The new republic's first independent currency was the Ghanaian pound (1958–1965). In 1965, Ghana decided to leave the British colonial monetary system and adopt the widely accepted decimal system. The African name Cedi (1965–1967) was introduced in place of the old British pound system. Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah introduced Cedi notes and Pesewa coins in July 1965 to replace the Ghanaian pounds, shillings and pence. The Cedi bore the portrait of the President and was equivalent to eight shillings and four pence (8s 4d), i.e. one hundred old pence, so that 1 pesewa was equal to one penny. After the February 1966 military coup, the new leaders wanted to remove the face of Nkrumah from the banknotes. The "new Cedi" (1967–2007) was worth 1.2 Cedis, which made it equal to half of a pound sterling (or ten shillings sterling) at its introduction. Decades of high inflation devalued the new Cedi, so that in 2007 the largest of the "new cedi" banknotes, the 20,000 note, had a value of about US$2. The new cedi was gradually phased out in 2007 in favor of the "Ghana Cedi" at an exchange rate of 1:10,000. By removing four digits, the Ghana Cedi became the highest-denominated currency unit issued in Africa. It has since lost over 90% of its value.
Euro
The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents. The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. The euro is used by 350 million people in Europe and additionally, over 200 million people worldwide use currencies pegged to the euro. It is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. As of December 2019, with more than €1.3 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world. The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$1.1743 at the time). Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, and by March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies. Between December 1999 and December 2002, the euro traded below the US dollar, but has since traded near parity with or above the US dollar, peaking at US$1.60 on 18 July 2008 and since then returning near to its original issue rate. On 13 July 2022, the two currencies hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades due in part to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Then, in September 2022, the US dollar again had a face value higher than the euro, at around US$0.95 per euro.