Geographical Elements in the Bank Notes of African Countries

Abstract

Currencies are among the research areas of the science of geography. Current study examines the bank notes used by 54 independent countries in the African Continent in the last 30 years. It was identified that the majority of currencies used by African countries (in 585 bank notes) include photographs or images based on the geographical elements of the country. The bank notes of African countries include geomorphologic, geologic, hydrographic and biogeographic elements of physical geography. They also present elements of human geography elements such as settlements, agriculture and animal husbandry, fishing, mineral deposits and energy resources, industry, transportation, historical monuments, religion, language, ethnic structure and arts. Investigation of the visual elements in bank notes has contributed to the discovery of some of the geographical characteristics in African countries.