The ekwele or ekuele was the currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 of Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

 between 1975 and 1985. Although nominally divided into 100 céntimos, no subdivisions were issued. The name ekuele (plural the same) was used until 1979, whilst ekwele (plural bipkwele) was used after.

The ekuele replaced the peseta guineana

Equatorial Guinean peseta

The peseta was the currency of Equatorial Guinea from 1969 to 1975. It replaced the Spanish peseta at par and was replaced, at par, by the ekwele.-Coins:...

at par, whilst the ekwele was replaced by the Central African CFA franc

Central African CFA franc

The Central African CFA franc is the currency of six independent states in central Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. CFA stands for Coopération financière en Afrique centrale...

 (written franco on Equatorial Guinean coins and banknotes) at a rate of 1 franco = 4 bipkwele.

Coins

The first coins were issued in 1975. These were 1, 5 and 10 ekuele denominations. In 1980 and 1981, coins of 1 ekwele, 5, 25 and 50 bipkwele were issued. This second issue was made in smaller quantities than the first and these coins are considerably rarer today.

Banknotes

The "Banco Popular" issued notes from 25 to 1000 ekuele in 1975, with the "Banco de Guinea Ecuatorial" taking over the production of paper money in 1979 and issuing notes in denominations from 100 up to 5000 bipkwele.

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