The Gambia is a small country in western Africa surrounded by Senegal and the Atlantic Ocean. Its territory is a narrow strip of land around the Gambia River.
Present-day Gambia was visited by Arab traders already in medieval times. From the 15th century Portuguese traders began to explore the area. The British and French rivalled frequently over control of the West African coast, with the French concentrating around the Senegal River and the British around the Gambia River. By the 19th century, the British had established the Gambia Protectorate separately from Sierra Leone. The British and French reached a border agreement and despite British interest to swap The Gambia for another French territory such as the Niger Colony it always stayed British.
Independence was granted in 1965, with President Jawara ruling the country in a stable manner until he was ousted by Yahya Jammeh in 1994. Jammeh has been reelected a couple of times and is still president today. The Gambia became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1970. Today, groundnuts and tourism are its main industries. It is a popular destination for middle-aged European women.
The Gambia used British homeland currency until adopting the British West African Pound in 1907. It was the last territory to keep the BWA£ until the Gambian Pound was introduced in 1966. Unusual denominations of 4 and 8 Shillings were struck for this currency, but this was in preparation for decimalising into the Dalasi in 1971 for 5 Dalasi per Pound or 4 Shillings per Dalasi. A Dalasi is subdivided in 100 Bututs.
At its inception the Dalasi was worth around $0.50, but by 2015 this has dropped to $0.025. Current coins in circulation therefore have pretty low purchasing power.
Gambian Pound coins are quite rare and relatively valuable for post-WW2 non-precious metal coins. Gambian Dalasi coins are relatively easy to find despite the small population using them. The first series depict President Jawara, the second series the national coat of arms.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/gambie-1.html