Italian Somaliland somalo

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The somalo (plural: somali, صومالي) was the currency of the Trust Territory of Somalia between 1950 and 1962. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi (singular: centesimo).

Contents 1 History 2 Coins 3 Banknotes 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

The somalo was authorized by Trusteeship Administration Ordinance No. 14 of 16 May 1950. A currency exchange was scheduled to last from 16 May until 22 July, but was eventually extended until 22 August. The somalo replaced the East African shilling at par and remained equal to it. It replaced the small amount of Italian lire in circulation at 1 somalo = Lit 87.49. It was given an IMF parity of 124.414mg fine gold, equal to one shilling sterling. Internationally, this currency became known as the "Somali shilling" when Somalia became independent on 1 July 1960. The somalo/shilling was replaced at par on 15 December 1962 (along with the East African shilling circulating in British Somaliland) by the "Somali scellino" (Somali shilling).

[edit] Coins

In 1950, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 centesimi and 1 somalo. The three lower denominations were minted in copper, with the higher two being struck in silver.

[edit] Banknotes

The Cassa per la Circolazione Monetaria della Somalia, headquartered in Rome, began operations 18 April 1950 and was authorized to issue 55 million shillings in paper money. It released notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 100 somali on 22 May 1950. A smaller version of the 5-somali note was put into circulation in May 1951. These notes were withdrawn beginning 15 December 1962 and ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 1963.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Don's World Coin Gallery - Somalia
• Ron Wise's World Paper Money - Italian Somaliland ^{Mirror site}
• Tables of Modern Monetary Systems by Kurt Schuler - Somalia ^{Mirror site}
• The Global History of Currencies - Somalia
• Global Financial Data currency histories table ( Microsoft Excel format)

Preceded by: East African shilling Ratio: at par

Currency of Italian Somaliland 1950 – 1962

Succeeded by: Somali shilling Reason: independence Ratio: at par Note: the shilling was made the unit of account shortly after independence in 1960