Somali shilling

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The Somali shilling (shilin soomaali) is the currency used in the African nation of Somalia. The ISO 4217 code for the Somali shilling is SOS.

The shilling has been the currency of parts of Somalia since 1921, when the East African shilling was introduced to British Somaliland. Following independence, the somalo of Italian Somaliland and the East African shilling (which were equal in value) were replaced at par by the Somali shilling, called the scellino in Italian. The shilling/scellino was subdivided into 100 cents/centesimi.

The Somali names shilin and sent were introduced in 1976, with the Italian names disappearing. The Italian name scellino made its way back on some of the coins in 2000, but not all. The spelling of the subunit today remains unknown.

In Somaliland, a separate issue of currency circulates, denominated in Somaliland shillings.

The situation of the currency in Somalia is unknown, but as in Afghanistan, banknotes of the old issue of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 shilling are probably being produced without honouring the serial numbers. Whether or not coins are used in practice is also unknown. For example, 10 shilling coin is only available as commemorative coin in the Twelve Animal series or F.A.O.. Other regional currencies as well as the U.S Dollar and Euro circulate as well.

In the south, only the 1000 shilin note remains in circulation today. All other denominations, such as the 20, 50, 100, 500 in circulation prior the civil war, disappeared. In the more nothern peaceful areas of the country, still the 500 shilin note along with 1000 shilin can be seen in circulation.

Historical exchange rates

Free market rates in southern Somalia:

2000 SOS/USD in June 1991

5000 SOS/USD in June 1993

13400 SOS/USD in March 2006

References

• [CIA World Factbook - Somalia]

External links

• [Gallery of old and new Somali Banknotes]
• [Somalia at Islamic Banknotes]
• [Somaliland]

Currencies of Africa
North	Algerian dinar > Euro (Plaza de soberanía) | Egyptian pound | Libyan dinar | Mauritanian ouguiya | Moroccan dirham | Sudanese dinar | Tunisian dinar
Central	Angolan kwanza > Burundian franc | Central African CFA franc (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon) | Congolese franc | Rwandan franc
West	Cape Verdean escudo > Euro (Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira) | Gambian dalasi | Ghanaian cedi | Guinean franc | Liberian dollar | Nigerian naira | São Tomé and Príncipe dobra | Sierra Leonean leone | West African CFA franc (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo)
East	Comorian franc > Djiboutian franc | Eritrean nakfa | Ethiopian birr | Kenyan shilling | Seychelles rupee | Somali shilling | Somaliland shilling | Tanzanian shilling | Ugandan shilling
South	Botswana pula > Euro (Mayotte, Réunion) | Lesotho loti | Malawian kwacha | Malagasy ariary | Mauritian rupee | Mozambican metical | Namibian dollar | Norwegian krone (Bouvet Island de jure) | Saint Helena pound | South African rand | Swazi lilangeni | Zambian kwacha | Zimbabwean dollar
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