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The Ghanaian cedi is the country's unit of currency. It is currently the only legal money in use in the Republic of Ghana and the fourth historically. There are one hundred pesewas in one cedi. Following attaining independence, Ghana severed its ties to the British West African pound, which served as the local currency for the British colonies. The Ghanaian pound served as the new republic's first independent currency. In 1965, Ghana opted to quit the British colonial monetary system and embrace the internationally established decimal system. The outdated British pound system was replaced with the African currency Cedi. In July 1965, Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, replaced the Ghanaian pounds, shillings, and pence with Cedi notes and Pesewa coins. One pesewa was equal to one penny since the cedi, which featured the portrait of the President, was worth eight shillings and four pence, or one hundred old pence. Following the military takeover in February 1966, the new authorities wished to have Nkrumah's image removed from the banknotes. At the time of its launch, the "new cedi" was equivalent to 1.2 cedis, or half a pound sterling. The new cedi was devalued by decades of severe inflation, and in 2007 the value of the highest "new cedi" currency, the 20,000 note, was around US$2. In 2007, the "new cedi" was gradually replaced by the "Ghana cedi" with a conversion rate of 1:10,000. The Ghana cedi, which was issued with only three digits remaining, is now the highest-denominated currency unit in Africa. Since then, it's lost more than 90% of its worth.