Tanzania's conservation-themed coinage of the 1980s was produced under a joint program between the Tanzanian government and international wildlife organizations pushing to fund habitat protection through numismatic sales. The 1986 silver proof issues were struck for the collector export market almost exclusively — virtually none entered domestic circulation, where a 100 shilingi face value would have represented significant purchasing power against the backdrop of Tanzania's severe foreign exchange shortages and IMF structural adjustment pressures of that decade.
The .925 standard and proof finish point to a contracted European mint rather than local production.
Tanzania's conservation-themed coinage of the 1980s was produced under a joint program between the Tanzanian government and international wildlife organizations pushing to fund habitat protection through numismatic sales. The 1986 silver proof issues were struck for the collector export market almost exclusively — virtually none entered domestic circulation, where a 100 shilingi face value would have represented significant purchasing power against the backdrop of Tanzania's severe foreign exchange shortages and IMF structural adjustment pressures of that decade.
The .925 standard and proof finish point to a contracted European mint rather than local production.