Catalog
20 Scellini / 20 Somali Shillings
| Issuer | Banca Nazionale Somala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1966 |
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| Reference(s) | P#7 |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Leopard head |
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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.