Somalia 1970 5 shillings
This specimen is the first coin issued by Somalia as part of the F.A.O. series and the first coin of that denomination. Somalia was divided by the British and Italians at the end of the nineteenth century. Mussolini's imperialist fantasies moved him to conquer neighboring Ethiopia in 1936, which conquest was reversed by a British occupation of Ethiopia and Somaliland in 1941. Somaliland was returned to Italy in 1950, which granted the area independence in 1960. A succession of military regimes followed until the complete collapse of government in the early 1990's. That unhappy condition persists to this day. This coin seems to be one of the few that actually saw circulation in its country of issue.
Recorded mintage: 100,000 plus 1,000 proofs.
Specification: copper-nickel, 38 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 15.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
Link to:
- 1967 5 centesimi
- 1970 20 shillings, 10th anniversary of independence
- 1970 50 shillings, 10th anniversary of independence
- 1970 100 shillings, 10th anniversary of independence
- 1970 200 shillings, 10th anniversary of independence
- 1970 500 shillings, 10th anniversary of independence
- 1976 shilling F.A.O.
- Coins and currency dated 1970
- return to coins of Somalia