250 Shillings Greek Trireme

Somalia's 1990s commemorative program was essentially a licensing operation — the government, such as it was during the civil war period, authorized foreign minting houses to produce themed coins for the international collector market with little connection to domestic circulation or monetary policy. By 1998, the central state had been functionally collapsed for seven years.

KM#79 belongs to a series drawing on ancient seafaring history, a subject with no particular relevance to Somali numismatic tradition. The .925 silver specification targets the commemorative collector market rather than any domestic use.