The Somaliland shilling is the official currency of Somaliland

Somaliland

Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...

, a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. It was introduced on 18 October 1994 at one new Somaliland shilling to 100 Somali shillings. The Somali shilling ceased to be accepted as legal tender in Somaliland on 31 January 1995.

Coins

Nominally, one Somaliland shilling is divided into 100 cents, but coins denominated in cents have never been issued, probably due to the low value of one shilling. The coin with the lowest value is the one shilling coin, first minted in 1994 at the Pobjoy Mint

Pobjoy Mint

The Pobjoy Mint is Europe’s leading private mint which produces legal tender commemorative and circulating coins, medals and tokens for governments, central banks and major companies throughout the world from its premises in Surrey, England.-History:...

 in England and therefore bearing the PM mintmark. In 2002, 2 and 5 shilling coins were issued, bearing depictions of the explorer Sir Richard Burton

Richard Francis Burton

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...

 and of a rooster

Rooster

A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...

, respectively. Other coins that have been issued at some point are the 10 shilling coin (depicting a monkey

Monkey

A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

), the 20 shilling coin (depicting a dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

), and a silver 1,000 shilling coin (also depicting Sir Richard Burton). The reverse side of the 1,000 shilling coin contains an interesting error: Instead of depicting the Coat of arms of Somaliland

Coat of arms of Somaliland

The National Emblem of Somaliland was introduced on 14 October 1996 along with the Flag of Somaliland, when it was approved by the National Conference...

, they depict the Coat of arms of Somalia

Coat of arms of Somalia

The coat of arms of Somalia was adopted on October 10, 1956. The leopards which support the shield and the white star were also found on the arms used during the Italian administration. Formerly, the arms of Somalia from June 8, 1919, featured a shield divided horizontally by a wavy white line...

 instead.

Somaliland coins are not currently being minted or circulated.

Banknotes

Banknotes are issued with denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 shillings. The 500 shilling has the most recent issue of 2005. Other dates of issue include, 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002.

Currently only the 500 shilling note is in circulation.

Exchange rates

The central bank provides exchange services for various currencies at the official government rate, but most people prefer the better, although unofficial, rates provided by the hawala

Hawala

Hawala is an informal value transfer system based on the performance and honor of a huge network of money brokers, which are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and South Asia...

 agents and moneychangers found on the streets of main cities.

In November 2000 the official exchange rate of the Somaliland Central Bank was 4,550 shillings for 1 US dollar

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

. Unofficial exchange rates at the time fluctuated between 4,000 and 5,000 shillings per dollar.

In December 2008, the official rate had fallen to 7,500 shillings per US dollar.

External links

• Catalog of Somaliland coins.