Catalog
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| Issuer | Central Bank of Somalia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 250 Shillings (250 Shilin) 250 SOS = RSD 43 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central field features a polychrome coloured illustration of a medieval Hanseatic trading cog rendered in yellow, red, and brown tones, depicted broadside with its characteristic single square sail partially furled on a tall mast, high fore and aft castles, and a clinker-built hull. The inscription 'HANSA TRADING COG' arcs across the upper portion of the inner field, with the historical date '1250' inscribed below the vessel. The series legend 'A HISTORY OF WORLD SHIPPING' curves along the upper periphery, and the mint year '1998' is inscribed along the lower border, all framed by a beaded rim. |
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| Additional information |
Somalia's late-1990s commemorative program was largely driven by foreign minting houses producing collector pieces with negligible domestic circulation — this Hansa Cog issue is a product of that arrangement, almost certainly struck in Europe and exported rather than distributed through Somali banking channels. By 1998, the Central Bank of Somalia had effectively lost functional control over the country's monetary system following the collapse of the Siad Barre government in 1991, making the "issuer" designation largely nominal.
The Hanseatic cog itself — the flat-bottomed, clinker-built cargo vessel that dominated Baltic and North Sea trade from roughly the 12th through 15th centuries — has no particular connection to Somali history.