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20 Scellini / 20 Somali Shillings
| Issuer | Banca Nazionale Somala |
|---|---|
| Year | 1962 |
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| Printer | I.P.S. Officina Carte Valori |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark red on a multicolour guilloche underprint, the obverse carries a central vignette of a bunch of bananas within an oval frame at left, surmounted by the Somali coat of arms with a star. The large denomination numeral '20' and the word 'SCELLINI' appear in intaglio at centre, flanked by intricate scrollwork borders with denomination panels at each corner. Two signature lines for 'IL PRESIDENTE' and 'IL PRESIDENTE DEL COLLEGIO DEI REVISORI' appear below centre, with the place and date 'MOGADISCIO 1962' at the bottom. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in blue-green on a dark red border and guilloche framework, the reverse presents a detailed intaglio vignette of the Banca Nazionale Somala building at centre right, a neoclassical structure with arched portico and flanking trees. A large circular watermark window occupies the left portion of the design, surrounded by interlaced arabesque patterns. Arabic inscriptions appear at the top and denomination panels are positioned at each corner. |
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| Comments |
The Banca Nazionale Somala was established in 1960 to coincide with independence, replacing the casse di risparmio and trust territory currency arrangements that had operated under Italian and then UN administration. This 1962 note belongs to the bank's first substantive issue — the transitional period between trust territory and functioning sovereign monetary institution was genuinely short, and the infrastructure to support it was thin.
Printing went to I.P.S. Officina Carte Valori in Rome, a logical choice given Somalia's administrative history with Italy. The bilingual denomination — Scellini and Shillings — reflects the dual official language policy of the early republic, though Somali itself would not gain full official written standardization until 1972.