State Prints Its Heroes on Money, Tells Us It's Ours

Gold-embossed, watermarked and guarded by raised ink, the Ghana Cedi Heritage Series banknotes were unveiled Thursday, November 12, 2026, at Bank of Ghana headquarters in Accra, with President John Dramani Mahama calling the new money a "quiet ambassador" that carries the nation's history into daily life. The audience wasn't market traders. It was the Governor, Deputy Governors, members of Parliament, heads of security services, senior government officials, heads of religious bodies, the Chief Justice, the banking industry and the diplomatic corps.

Who Has the Power

The central bank says the redesign was needed because some core designs have circulated for more than two decades while counterfeiting technology and international security standards have moved on. It's the most significant redesign of the cedi since the 2007 redenomination, 19 years ago. The notes enter circulation Monday, December 1, 2026, through commercial banks, 19 days after the launch. The old series stays legal tender for now, but banks will gradually withdraw it until the new one takes over completely.

A new Currency Act is in the works to replace the Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242). The proposed law will strengthen penalties against counterfeiting, set out procedures for detecting, surrendering, authenticating and destroying counterfeit notes, and give firm legal backing to the fight against the mutilation and abuse of banknotes and coins. Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama put the warning plainly: "Counterfeiting will soon become a very, very, very painful experience." The Bank also cautioned the public against writing on, spraying, crumpling or stapling notes, or using them for money bouquets.

Who Gets Crushed

The people who hold the most cash, and are least able to absorb a mistake, are the ones the Bank is telling not to rush. It advised the public not to exchange old notes in a panic and promised a phased introduction so individuals and businesses can adjust "without disrupting economic activity." Learning the new money falls to ordinary people: the Bank plans a public education campaign in all regions and major local languages, and asks everyone to remember three steps for checking authenticity, Tilt, Look and Feel.

People with visual impairments get tactile markings and a free app, 'The Cedi,' on the Apple App Store and Google Play, launched at the event by Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, and the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II. The Bank says cash that survives Ghana's climate and heavy handling cuts the cost of replacing damaged currency, and that the notes are smaller, lighter and easier to handle. Dominic Owusu, the Bank's director of currency management, noted the existing GH¢200 note is so large that some people can't fit it in their wallets.

Whose Faces, Whose Story

The state picked eight faces. Three are women. The GH¢1 note carries Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome, known as "Auntie Oforiwa," a market woman and textile trader who ran shops at Makola and Okaishie and mobilised Makola market women to finance and support the independence campaign. Owusu said of her: "She is the first market woman to support Ghana's independence, and also to open a bank account in the then Standard Bank." The reverse shows Makola Market, with market women selling foodstuffs.

The GH¢20 note carries Dr. Ephraim Amu, the composer who, according to a website dedicated to his life, was dismissed from the Presbyterian Training College in Akropong in 1933 for wearing kente cloth instead of a Western suit while preaching. The institution punished him then. Its successor prints him now. The GH¢10 note honours Justice Annie Jiagge, Ghana's first female judge. The GH¢200 note carries Dr Kwame Nkrumah, with an Adinkra symbol, Adinkrahene, representing "greatness, leadership, authority and charisma." The other faces are Cardinal Peter Poreku Dery, James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, Theodosia Salome Okoh and Kofi Annan.

What They're Calling "Heritage"

Mahama said the cedi "knows no political party" and traced the name to the Akan word for cowrie shell. He announced a $10 billion, four-year New Economy Programme anchoring the 2027 budget, which the Finance Minister presented to Parliament later the same day. Governor Asiama described a national currency as a country's capacity to manage its monetary affairs through its own institutions, adding that credibility depends on sound policies, effective institutions and public confidence.

He also said something worth sitting with: "Physical cash remains an essential pillar of our monetary resilience." Payment networks, he said, can be disrupted by technical failures, cyber incidents, natural disasters and "yet again deliberate attacks in some instances." When they go down, cash is what people have. The Bank plans new Cash Centres at its Ho and Tamale Regional Offices "to bring currency services closer to the people."

The cedi was introduced as the national currency in July 1965, 61 years ago, eight years after independence from Britain on March 6, 1957. The Bank of Ghana's 70th anniversary comes March 4, 2027. Mahama closed with a prayer: "May the Cedi build prosperity amongst all Ghanaians." The market women who bankrolled independence are on the one-cedi note. The people holding it will decide what it buys.