Somaliland shilling

Somaliland shilling
شلن صوماليلاندي (Arabic)
Soomaaliland shilin (Somali)
50 USD equivalent in January 2011
ISO 4217 code none
User(s)  Somaliland
Symbol Sl. Sh.
Coins 1, 5, 10, 20 shillings
Banknotes 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 shillings
Central bank Bank of Somaliland
Website www.somalilandgov.com/bank.htm

The Somaliland shilling (Somali: Soomaaliland shilin) is the official currency of Somaliland, a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Somalia.[1][2] It was introduced on 18 October 1994 at one new Somaliland shilling to 100 Somali shillings. The Somali shilling ceased to be accepted as legal tender in Somaliland on 31 January 1995.

Contents

Coins

Nominally, one Somaliland shilling is divided into 100 cents, but coins denominated in cents have never been issued, probably due to the low value of one shilling. The coin with the lowest value is the one shilling coin, first minted in 1994 at the Pobjoy Mint in England and therefore bearing the PM mintmark. In 2002, 2 and 5 shilling coins were issued, bearing depictions of the explorer Sir Richard Burton and of a rooster, respectively. Other coins that have been issued at some point are the 10 shilling coin (depicting a monkey), the 20 shilling coin (depicting a dog), and a silver 1,000 shilling coin (also depicting Sir Richard Burton). The reverse side of the 1,000 shilling coin contains an interesting error: Instead of depicting the Coat of arms of Somaliland, they depict the Coat of arms of Somalia instead.

Somaliland coins are not currently being minted or circulated.

Banknotes

Part of a series on the
Culture of Somaliland
Islam in Somaliland
Somali language
History of Somaliland
Cuisine of Somalia
Bank of Somaliland
Somaliland shilling
Currency of Somalia
Oral poetry of Somalia
Public holidays

Somaliland Portal

Banknotes are issued with denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 shillings. The 500 shilling has the most recent issue of 2005.[3] Other dates of issue include, 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002.

Currently only the 500 shilling note is in circulation.

Exchange rates

The central bank provides exchange services for various currencies at the official government rate, but most people prefer the better, although unofficial, rates provided by the hawala agents and moneychangers found on the streets of main cities.

In November 2000 the official exchange rate of the Somaliland Central Bank was 4,550 shillings for 1 US dollar. Unofficial exchange rates at the time fluctuated between 4,000 and 5,000 shillings per dollar.

In December 2008, the official rate had fallen to 7,500 shillings per US dollar. [4]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic: "The Somali Republic shall have the following boundaries. (a) North; Gulf of Aden. (b) North West; Djibouti. (c) West; Ethiopia. (d) South south-west; Kenya. (e) East; Indian Ocean."
  2. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Somalia
  3. ^ Nachthund (2007-01-07). "Update - Somaliland.". http://www.nachthund.biz/CatalogUpdate/Somaliland/SomalilandIndex.html. Retrieved 2007-01-19. 
  4. ^ http://www.somalilandgov.com/cprofile.htm

External links

Preceded by:
Somali shilling
Reason: currency independence
Ratio: 1 Somaliland shilling = 100 Somali shillings = 1/50 United States dollar
Currency of Somaliland
1994 –
Note: Somaliland is not widely recognized
Succeeded by:
Current