250 Shillings Nelson Mandela

Somalia's decision to issue a Nelson Mandela commemorative in 2000 had nothing to do with any bilateral relationship between the two countries — it was squarely aimed at the international collector market, part of a wave of Somali novelty issues produced during the period when the country had no functioning central government. The Central Bank of Somalia existed largely on paper; these coins were licensed to foreign minting operations and generated revenue that bypassed the collapsed state almost entirely.

KM#116 is one of several trimetallic Somali issues from this period sharing the same planchet specification, produced in quantity for the souvenir trade rather than circulation.