Add Guinea Coast/Gulf of Guinea/West Africa as an issuer

There are a couple of West African trade manillas already in the catalog, but under an ‘Unspecified Issuer’: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?r=manilla&st=72&cat=y&im1=&im2=&ru=&ie=&ca=3&no=&v=&cu=&a=&dg=&i=&b=&m=&f=&t=&t2=&w=&mt=&u=&g=&c=&wi=&sw=

I suggest to add a new issuer to group these.
This can be Guinea Coast, Gulf of Guinea or just West Africa.
To complicate things a little bit, most of these items are created in Europe (Portugal, France, UK), while others are manufactured locally. They were circulated between the coastal regions of present day Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. So these five countries can be the ones that are represented on the map.

- Name: Either Guinea Coast, Gulf of Guinea or just West Africa. I think that West Africa is too vague. Guinea Cost is better, but these coins were not in circulation in the westernmost parts of it (Senegal/Gambia/Ivory Coast). Gulf of Guinea is more closely overlaps with their area of circulation, but it is a name of a body of water, which is a little bit weird for a coin issuer. Still, I prefer Gulf of Guinea.
I've considered adding the 'Pre-colonial' adjective to the name, like ‘Pre-colonial West Africa’, but these coins were in circulation up until the late 1940s. They were not just in circulation during the colonial period of the region, but almoust outlived it.
- Flag: I don't think a flag is necessary.  The flag can be blank, like Caucasia or the West Slavs.
- Wikidata/Wikipedia link (depending on the preferred name): Guinea Coast or Gulf of Guinea or West Africa
- Map: present day Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon
- Successors: These 5 countries
- Position in the catalog: Although these are just proto-coins, they're not that old (XVI-XX. century) that this new issuer should be put into the Ancient and early medieval polities section. The normal Countries and territories group should be fine.
- Items to add to this issuer:

N#284622

N#284623

N#283426

N#283427

N#283428

N#283429


Some background info about the timefame and circulation area of these items:
https://grokipedia.com/page/Manilla_(money)

https://coincoin.com/oldsite/I024.htm

I agree with this addition. I think that the issue of proto-coins in the catalog has been one that needs to be addressed, as I have started to do with my Mesoamerican axe money request ((https://en.numista.com/forum/topic170392.html#p1302108)). 

It is my opinion that the African proto currencies should be removed from the lists of the modern countries they were made in as they are currently represented in the catalog, and instead be given specific issuers as they deserve. One idea is as follows:

Ethnographic African Currencies (Or some other title)
----- Gulf of Guinea (N#283429, N#283428, N#283426, N#283427, N#284622, N#284623)

----- Kissi Tribe (N#272355)

----- Province of Katanga (N#46820)

----- Congo Peoples

---------- Basongo-Meno People (N#284906)

---------- Turumba and Topoke People (N#283981)

---------- Mfunte People (N#284620)

----- Akan People (N#438110, N#313101)

----- Nigerian Peoples

---------- Munshi People (N#294026, N#283960)

---------- Idoma People (N#284237)

---------- Yoruba People (N#283967)

---------- Fulani, Jukun, and Mumuye Peoples (N#283964)

---------- South Nigerian Tribes (N#283959)

----- Northern Uganda (N#284243)

This is just a theorycraft and not an official request yet, but I feel that grouping all of the African proto-currencies together under a new issuer that is specifically for African proto-currencies makes much more sense than the current arrangement. Most of these proto-currencies are just tossed under the modern country they were made in, but almost all of these currencies predate the formation of the issuers they are under here on Numsita. Additionally, these currencies were made for very specific circulation between tribes and peoples in very specific regions, it feels erroneous to claim that Munshi beads were used throughout Nigeria, for example. As a collector of many ethnographic currencies, African in particular, the current way they are represented in the catalog is wrong and detrimental to such a niche collecting community.

I apologize for hijacking your post @SGreg85 haha. I fully support your idea, and hope to see more accurate proto-currency issuers be created as well in the future. 

I like your proposed grouping of these early African coins, makes more sense than leaving these under Nigeria or Uganda. It's like putting Gaul coins into France or Golden Horde to Ukraine, just because their territories somewhat overlaps.
The Ethnographic African Currencies sounds a bit weird though. How about Early sub-Saharan Africa?

Bump.

Please add a new issuer (Gulf of Guinea) for the West African trade manillas and a parent issuer (Early sub-Saharan Africa) where other similar early African issuers can be added in the future (for Katanga crosses, Kissi pennies, etc) according to the previous suggestion of Reslumi.

Early sub-Saharan Africa

----- Gulf of Guinea