Catalog
20 Scellini / 20 Somali Shillings
| Issuer | Banca Nazionale Somala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1966 |
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| Printer | Thomas De La Rue & Company, London, United Kingdom |
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| Obverse description | Brown on pink and multicolour guilloche underprint. An oval vignette to the left centre displays a bunch of bananas surmounted by a five-pointed star, set within an intricate lathe-work border. The large denomination numeral '20' and the inscription 'SCELLINI' appear in the centre, flanked by Arabic legends at left and right margins. Two facsimile signatures appear below the central guilloche, with the issuer name 'BANCA NAZIONALE SOMALA' across the top and 'MOGADISCIO 1966' at the foot. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Brown on multicolour guilloche underprint. The right portion of the note is occupied by a detailed architectural vignette of the Banca Nazionale Somala headquarters, a colonnaded building set among trees and approached by a broad stairway. A large circular watermark space occupies the left centre, surrounded by intricate arabesque and interlaced geometric ornamental borders. Arabic inscription runs along the top, with the denomination '20 SHILLINGS' at the right margin. |
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| Comments |
The Banca Nazionale Somala was established in 1960 following the unification of the former Italian Trust Territory of Somalia and British Somaliland, and this 1966 series represents one of the earliest issues under full Somali national authority. Thomas De La Rue had printed currency for both predecessor territories under their respective colonial administrations, so the relationship with the new bank was essentially inherited rather than newly negotiated.
The bilingual denomination — Scellini alongside Shillings — reflects the awkward administrative merger of two distinct colonial monetary traditions, Italian and British, that the new state was still reconciling six years after independence.