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20 Shilingi Independence
| Issuer | Bank of Tanzania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 16 g |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing draped bust effigy of President Julius K. Nyerere occupies the central field, contained within a raised inner circle. The portrait renders the subject in a suit and tie, with fine facial detail in a realist style. The circumferential legend is divided into two arcs: MWALIMU JULIUS K. NYERERE running along the upper border and RAIS WA KWANZA WA TANZANIA along the lower border, separated at each side by decorative lozenge stops. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central device displays the full Tanzanian coat of arms: a vertically oriented shield supported on either side by a kneeling human figure, the shield charged with an axe and hoe in saltire over wavy lines, surmounted by a burning torch, and flanked by floral sprays at the base. A scroll below the shield bears the national motto UHURU NA UMOJA. The denomination numeral 20 appears prominently beneath the arms, with the legend MIAKA ISHIRINI YA UHURU 1961-1981 arcing along the upper border and SHILINGI ISHIRINI flanking the lower field, all separated by decorative lozenge stops. |
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| Additional information |
Tanzania's 1981 twenty-shilingi piece marked the twentieth anniversary of independence from British rule, achieved on December 9, 1961, when Tanganyika became the first East African territory to reach that milestone under Julius Nyerere's TANU party. By 1981, Nyerere's ujamaa collectivization program had severely strained the national economy, and the country was deep into IMF negotiations that would eventually reshape its monetary policy through the decade.