The battle for the Liberian dollar

The Liberian dollar is the nation’s official currency. So, why do so many Liberians use US dollars for everyday transactions?

A dual currency system has existed in Liberia since the late 1800s. Professor Leigh Gardner from the Department of Economic History at LSE has examined the government’s struggle to re-assert the Liberian dollar over time. Her research was the subject of a physical display in the Value of Money exhibition at the National Museum of American History.

🔴 For a virtual version of the display see https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/u-s-dollars-in-liberia/xNXunzUXDYnD8iEe.

🔴 Read on the National Museum of American History’s blog: https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/dollars-liberia

🔴 Find out more about Professor Gardner’s upcoming book, Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the Age of Empires, 1822-1980: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/sovereignty-without-power/1AE1550713B8F8FC4AA55143F475AE00#