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20 Shilin Soomaali / Somali Shillings
| Issuer | Bankiga Dhexe ee Soomaaliya / Central Bank of Somalia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
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| Value | 20 Shilin |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a central vignette of the Garesa Palace (Lacagta Yaha / Suddooniyaha) in Mogadishu, rendered in fine intaglio line work, with trees flanking the building and a clear sky above. To the left, the Somali national coat of arms appears above the denomination numeral '20', with a multicolour guilloche underprint in pink and green tones throughout the note. The bank title 'BANKIGA DHEXE EE SOOMAALIYA' is printed across the top, with bilingual denomination inscriptions 'SHILIN / SOOMAALI' and 'SHILLINGS' at left and right, and the date 'MUQDISHO 1981' at lower right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries a large central vignette of a herd of zebu cattle walking along a rural track, framed by dense tree canopy, illustrating Somalia's pastoral economy in detailed intaglio engraving. A blank oval watermark space is positioned at centre-left, flanked by ornate multicolour guilloche rosettes and scroll motifs in pink, blue, and green. The bank title appears in Arabic script at the top left and in English 'CENTRAL BANK OF SOMALIA' at the top centre, with bilingual denomination inscriptions in Somali and Arabic at the corners. |
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| Comments |
The P#29 series — running across denominations from the early 1980s — was issued during a period when the Somali shilling was under severe pressure from the structural adjustment demands of the IMF and a deteriorating balance of payments tied partly to the 1977–78 Ogaden War's aftermath. Somalia had taken on substantial refugee burden costs following the conflict with Ethiopia, and foreign exchange reserves were critically depleted by the time this note entered circulation.
The single watermark security feature was already considered minimal by early 1980s standards, and the notes were vulnerable to relatively crude counterfeiting. By 1990, with the Barre government collapsing, the central bank itself had effectively ceased to function.