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1 Besa - Victor Emmanuel III
| Issuer | Italian Somaliland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909-1921 |
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| Engraver(s) | Luigi Giorgi |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse lettering | بلاد الصومال الايطاليانية ١ بيزا 1 BESA 1909 R· SOMALIA ITALIANA (Translation: Italian Somaliland 1 Besa 1 Besa 1909 R· Italian Somalia) |
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| Additional information |
Italian Somaliland maintained its own coinage system largely because Rome wanted a distinct monetary identity for the territory separate from the metropolitan lira — a political choice as much as a practical one. The besa was subdivided into its own unit structure, disconnected from the lira's decimal hierarchy, reflecting the colony's administrative separation from Eritrea and Libya, which used Italian coinage directly.
KM#1 across a twelve-year span is a long production window for a colonial bronze of this size, and the two dates within that range show measurable die differences.