The Bank of Ghana has launched its Heritage Series cedi notes. The series keeps all eight denominations, from GH¢1 to GH¢200, and brings back the GH¢2 note. The theme is “The Cedi, Our Future: Secure, Designed to Last.”

When Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama announced the series in September, he said the old designs had been in circulation for more than two decades.

On security, the bank points to stronger protection against counterfeiting and better durability. Reports ahead of the launch listed a moving RAPID thread, a watermark, ultraviolet elements, a 3D feature and optically variable ink.

The bank has also said the new notes are smaller than the old ones, which it says makes them easier to carry. Every note has a QR code on the back.

A feature common to all the old notes is missing from the new ones: the image of the Big Six.

Each note in the series has its own colour, but there are some common features that run through all in place of the Big Six.

There is a large star on the left and a portrait on the right, with the Independence Arch and the Coat of Arms in the centre. A column of Adinkra symbols sits beside the portrait, and kente-style patterns frame the edges. The Governor’s signature block is dated 19 July 2026. The back shows a landmark or scene and a named Adinkra symbol that links it to the person on the front.

The notes and the portraits

The Market woman

The story starts with commerce on the GH¢1 note. The Adinkra symbol ‘Bese Saka’, which stands for abundance, prosperity and unity, is at the bottom right of the back, with market women at their baskets on the left.

The front carries a portrait of Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome (1913 to 1997), known as Auntie Oforiwa, a textile trader and Makola market queen. She was reportedly the first Makola woman to open an account with the Standard Bank of West Africa. After the Convention People’s Party was formed in 1949, she is said to have rallied market women behind Kwame Nkrumah and helped raise money for his campaign.

The Religious leader

The returning GH¢2 note has the symbol ‘Nyame Dua’, which stands for Ghana’s indigenous spiritual heritage, and the Larabanga mosque on the back.

The front shows Cardinal Peter Porekuu Dery (1918 to 2008), who became the first bishop of Wa in 1960, later served as Archbishop of Tamale, and composed the first Dagaare Mass. Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in 2006. He died in 2008, and the Church opened his cause for sainthood in 2013.

The Educator

Education is the theme of the GH¢5 note, which shows James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey (1875 to 1927), who became the first vice principal of Achimota College in 1924. The school opened formally in January 1927 with 120 students.

The back of the note features the symbol ‘Nea onnim no sua a, ohu’, meaning “he who does not know can learn”, and an image of Achimota School.

The Judge

Annie Jiagge (1918 to 1996), Ghana’s first woman magistrate, is on the GH¢10 note. She became a circuit court judge in 1959 and a High Court judge in 1961, and several accounts call her the first woman judge in the Commonwealth. She was also the first woman on the Court of Appeal in 1969, and its president from 1980 to 1983. Representing Ghana at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, she wrote a 1967 draft declaration on the elimination of discrimination against women that laid the groundwork for the CEDAW treaty.

The back of the note features ‘Epa’, the Adinkra symbol of law and justice, and an image of the Supreme Court.

The Composer

The GH¢20 note shows Ephraim Amu (1899 to 1995), who composed “Yɛn ara asaase ni” (“This is our own land”), a song performed at national functions and often called Ghana’s unofficial second anthem. He taught at Akropong and Achimota, wrote music with African instruments and idioms, and helped set up the music department at the University of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies. He had earlier appeared on the 20,000-cedi note issued in 2002.

The back of the note features ‘Dono’, the symbol drawn from the talking drum, and the National Theatre.

The Designer

On the back of the GH¢50 note, the symbol ‘Fawohodie’ stands for freedom, alongside an image of Jubilee House, the seat of the president.

The front shows Theodosia Okoh (1922 to 2015), who designed Ghana’s flag. She entered an open competition before independence, and her design was adopted on 6 March 1957.

She said she chose red, gold and green with Ghana’s geography in mind. For years, many Ghanaians believed the flag was Nkrumah’s idea. Okoh was also the first woman to chair the Ghana Hockey Association, and the sports administrator Ohene Djan called her the “Joan of Arc of Ghana hockey”.

The Peacemaker

Peace is the theme of the GH¢100 note, which carries a portrait of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (1938 to 2018). Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006. He was the first to rise to the post from the ranks of UN staff. He and the UN shared the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. After leaving office, he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation and chaired The Elders.

The symbol ‘Bi nka bi’, which stands for peaceful coexistence, is on the back of the note, with an image of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.

The Leader

The GH¢200 note carries Kwame Nkrumah (1909 to 1972), the first prime minister and later president of Ghana. He became prime minister in 1952 and led the Gold Coast to independence on 6 March 1957, the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to win it, and became Ghana’s first president in 1960. He was overthrown on 24 February 1966 and died in exile in 1972.

The symbol ‘Adinkrahene’, which stands for leadership and authority, and the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum are on the back of the note.

For now, the old and new banknotes will be used side by side. The Bank of Ghana has said there is no need to rush to exchange the existing notes, and it has asked the public to handle the new ones with care.

The Governor said proper handling keeps notes in good condition and lowers replacement costs.

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