Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
5 Shillings Independence
| Issuer | Central Bank of Kenya |
|---|---|
| Year | 1973 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 13.9 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A bold left-facing bust of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, first President of Kenya, is depicted in high relief occupying the central field, rendered in a naturalistic portrait style showing his facial features, short hair, and suit collar in detail. The circumferential legend 'THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF KENYA' arcs along the upper portion of the nonagonal flan, separated by raised dots, while 'MZEE JOMO KENYATTA' curves along the lower periphery, also flanked by raised dots. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Smooth |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kenya's 1973 coinage was produced against a backdrop of the country's ongoing effort to dismantle the East African Currency Board, which had jointly served Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania since independence. The Board was dissolved in 1966 and replaced by individual central banks, but the full transition to distinctly national coinage series took years to complete. This piece belongs to that consolidation period.
The copper-aluminium-nickel alloy was a deliberate choice for durability in tropical circulation conditions, where humidity accelerates corrosion in less stable compositions.