MONROVIA: The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) says newly minted coins of the Liberian dollar are more durable than the banknotes, because international printers charged the same amount for both higher and smaller notes.
For the reason, the CBL said it has minted more Liberian dollar coins to ease the change problem in the local markets.
There have been change crisis between commercial drivers and passengers on one hand, while marketeers and their customers are in regular fray for change of lower denomination of the Liberian Banknotes.
Reports say motorcyclists and their passengers have constantly been at loggerheads, and at times get into fistfight over the lack of small denomination for change.
But, aimed at addressing the situation, the CBL, in line with its Currency Reform Program, has been printing series of Liberian coins along with new family banknotes.
It has now been complimenting higher banknotes with the recent release of the two leading exchanged dollars-five and ten dollar coins in the economy.
Authoritative sources at the CBL hinted this paper that the CBL has spread millions of dollars’ worth of coins to various commercial banks that are operating in the country.
The banks include the West African Bank-ECO, GT-Bank, UBA, International Bank, AFRILAND, SIB, and stated owned Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) among others.
Our source added the banks are instructed to serve customers including state workers with the coins in order to reach the larger population, especially those in rural Liberia.
The coins are minted in two denominations of the Liberian currency; five and ten dollars.
The coins flyers, released by the CBL reads: “The coins are lightweight yet durable for everyday use and are sized to ensure their longevity in the market whilst providing room for growth within the currency structure.”
The CBL flyers also described the new coins as “Latent feature-it has an image like a hologram that changes from the denomination ‘L$5 or L$10’ to the symbol of the ‘star’ when the coin is seen from different angels. The latent image is a visual security feature.”
