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1 Besa - Victor Emmanuel III
| Issuer | Italian Somaliland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909-1921 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Central design featuring the denomination '1 BESA' inscribed in both Italian (Latin script) and Arabic numerals and script within a decorative circular frame. The surrounding legend, rendered in both Arabic and Italian, identifies the issuing authority as 'SOMALIA ITALIANA' (Italian Somaliland) and its Arabic equivalent 'بلاد الصومال الايطاليانية'. The mint mark 'R' for the Rome Mint and the date of issue appear within the design. The overall composition presents a bilingual layout reflecting the colonial administrative context of Italian Somaliland. |
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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.