Catalog
20 Shillings 1996 Silver Commemorative Issue
| Issuer | Baanka Somaliland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1996 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Shillings (20 SLS) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The central vignette presents the historic Goodirka building in Hargeisa — formerly the House of Representatives at independence and now serving as the Supreme Court — accompanied by a kudu to one side. Over the standard design, a silver overprint commemorates the 5th Anniversary of Independence, dated 18 May 1996. Bilingual inscriptions in Somali and English, together with Arabic numerals, frame the composition across the upper and lower margins. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANKAA SOMALILAND TWENTY SOMALILAND SHILLINGS LABAATAN SL SHILIN SOMALILAND 20 SHILLINGS ٢٠شن (Translation: Bank of Somaliland Twenty Somaliland Shillings.) |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but no UN member state has ever formally recognized it. That political limbo shapes everything about its currency — the shilling series exists entirely outside international monetary frameworks, produced by a government that, legally speaking, most of the world treats as a regional administration of a failed state. The 1996 issues appeared while the country was still rebuilding basic infrastructure following the civil war's destruction of Hargeisa.
The "silver commemorative" designation on a paper note is essentially a marketing classification, not a metallurgical one — common in small-state issues targeting the collector market rather than daily commerce.