SHILLING: COIN OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA
1 shilling, 1924: East Africa Protectorate
British East Africa or East Africa Protectorate — a former British colony, the area around the Great Lakes of Africa occupied about the same area as today's Kenya.
EAST AFRICA - 1 SHILLING - 1924.
The lion (heraldic symbol of British East Africa) walks slowly through the savannah against the backdrop of the mountains.
GEORGIVS V REX ET IND: IMP: Latin "George V King and Emperor of India".
A crowned portrait of George V (King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, 1910-1936).
Royal Mint, London (United Kingdom). Without mintmarks.
Mintage: 44.604.000.
- Silver (0.250): 27.8 mm - 7.5 g
- Reference price: 9$
COIN SHILLING — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
There are a number of similar, homogeneous coin names that are specific to different countries: shilling (Great Britain and dependent territories), schilling (old Germany, Austria, Switzerland...), skilling (Scandinavia of previous centuries), scellino (Somalia; Italian version of the name of the shilling), scilling (Irish language).
As for the coin shilling of different issuers, it is typical of Great Britain and the countries of the former British Commonwealth (now — Commonwealth of Nations). That is, we are talking about English-speaking countries. Interestingly, in fact, the UK has not minted shillings since 1970.
The ratio between shillings and other coins of different countries was often the following — shilling = 12 pence = 1/20 pound (before the introduction of decimal monetary systems). However, in many African countries, where the shilling was the main currency, the ratio was and remains different: shilling = 100 cents.
Throughout history, the following states have issued (and some of them mint shillings to this day — both in the form of coins and basic currencies) coins denominated in shillings:
- United Kingdom, Australia, Biafra, British West Africa, Cyprus, East Africa Protectorate, Gambia, Ghana, Guernsey, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rhodesia, Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Somalia, Somaliland, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Uganda, Zambia...
Regarding the origin of the shilling coin name, there are a number of versions.
According to one version, the name of the coin shilling comes from the ancient German word "Scëllan, schallen", which means — "to sound" (in ancient times, "ringing coin" was called a real gold or silver coin — as opposed to counterfeit).
According to another version, the word shilling comes from Old English "Scilling", a monetary term meaning twentieth of a pound, from the Proto-Germanic root "skiljaną" meaning "to separate, split, divide" (from "to cut, split"). The fact is that in ancient times, small coins often were formed by cutting the main, more expensive coin (often in half).
There is also a common version of the shilling's coin name origin from the once popular Roman gold coin solidus, which was used almost all over Europe (by the way, we know about the Anglo-Saxon "Scillingas" of the 7th century that were the small gold coins).
In addition, finally, the variant of borrowing the term "Shilling" from the Phoenician "Shekel" that means "weigh" and "coin" in a broader sense is allowed.
