East African shilling
| East African shilling | |
|---|---|
| Denominations | |
| Superunit | |
| 20 | pound |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | cent |
| Banknotes | 5, 10, 20, 100 shillings |
| Coins | 1, 5, 10, 50 cents,1 shilling |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |
All in the 1900s:
|
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | East African Currency Board |
All in the 1900s:
The East African shilling was the currency issued for use in British controlled areas in East Africa from 1921 until 1969. It was produced by the East African Currency Board. It is also the proposed name for a common currency that the East African Community plans to introduce.
In the United Kingdom, the pound sterling used to be divided into twenty shillings, and it is normal to consider the shilling to be a subsidiary unit of the pound. In British East Africa, however, even though twenty shillings were equal in value to one pound sterling, the shilling was always taken to be the primary unit of account. This state of affairs was unique amongst all the parts of the British Empire that used the pound sterling currency.
This anomalous state of affairs arose because the first currency used by the British colonial authorities in British East Africa was the rupee and not the sterling. The East African shilling was introduced to Kenya, Tanganyika, and Uganda in 1921, replacing the short-lived florin at a rate of 2 shillings to 1 florin. The short-lived florin had been introduced because of increasing silver prices after World War I. At that time, the Indian rupee was the currency of the British East African states. The rupee, being a silver coin, rose in value against sterling. When it reached the value of two shillings, the authorities decided to replace it with the florin. From the florin thence came the East African shilling. The currency remained pegged to one shilling sterling and was subdivided into 100 cents. In 1936, Zanzibar joined the currency board, and the Zanzibari rupee was replaced at a rate of 1.5 East African shillings to 1 Zanzibari rupee. It was replaced by local currencies (Kenyan shilling, Ugandan shilling, and Tanzanian shilingi) following the territories' independence.
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