Italian Somaliland lira

The Italian Somaliland lira also called the Somali lira (Italian: lira somala), was a special version of the Italian lira minted in Italian Somaliland between 1925 and 1926.^[1]

Data

The Italian government decided to introduce the Italian lira into the colony. Decree No.1143 of 18 June 1925 authorized the introduction of the lira as legal tender, replacing the Italian rupee. (However, the Indian rupee continued to circulate as non-legal tender.) In order to introduce the lira, a period of exchange commenced on 1 July 1925 and ended on 30 June 1926. During this period, the Bank of Italy at Mogadishu exchanged the rupees for lire at a rate of eight lire per rupee. The lira proved to be an acceptable and reliable currency for the colony, but there developed an opinion in Italy, that it might be wiser to have a separate currency for its colonies (including Eritrea & Somalia), which would be linked to the lira, rather than allowing the Italian lira to circulate in its colonies. Peter Symes

The "Italian Somali Lira" replaced the Italian Somaliland rupia at a rate of 8 lire = 1 rupia. Only coins of £5 and £10 were issued, which circulated alongside Italian coins and banknotes. From 1938, banknotes for the Italian East African lira also circulated. The coin circulation officially lasted until 1941.

Coins

In 1925, silver coins in denominations of 5 and 10 lire were issued.^[2]

They were slightly larger than the 5 and 10 lire coins introduced in Italy the following year. The issue was approved by the Royal Decree of 18 June 1925, n. 1143, contextually put out over the former "Somalia Rupia". To the reverse there was the Arms of Somalia era: lion passant and three six-pointed stars. The Coat of Arms, between two branches, was crowned. Legends were only in Italian.

Coins
Value	Straight	Reverse	first minting	off the course
5 lire	Vittorio Emanuele III di Savoia with king crown. Under him the word MOTTI, the image creator Attilio Motti.	Coat of Arms of "Somalia italiana": lion with 3 stars crown. Around the words SOMALIA ITALIANA.	1925	1926
10 lire			1925	1926

Notes

^ http://www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/somalia(part1).htm The Banknotes of Somalia by Peter Symes
^ Somali Lira coins (in Italian)

Bibliography

Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
Mauri, Arnaldo (1967). Il mercato del credito in Etiopia, Giuffrè ed. Milano, 1967.

External links

Currencies of "Somalia Italiana" (in Italian)

Preceded by: Italian Somaliland rupia Ratio: 8 lire = 1 rupia	Currency of Italian Somaliland together with ordinary Italian lira 1925 – 1926 Concurrent with: Italian lira	Succeeded by: Italian lira Ratio: at par

[1] ttp://www.pjsymes.com.au/articles/somalia(part1).htm The Banknotes of Somalia by Peter Symes

[2] Somali Lira coins (in Italian)

[1]

[2]

v t e Currency units named pound, lira, or similar
Circulating	Egyptian pound Lebanese pound Pound sterling Alderney pound Falkland Islands pound Gibraltar pound Guernsey pound Jersey pound Manx pound Saint Helena pound South Sudanese pound Sudanese pound Syrian pound Turkish lira
Local alternative currency	Bristol pound Brixton pound Exeter pound Lewes pound Liverpool pound Stroud pound Totnes pound
Defunct	Aeginetan mina AM-Lira Angevin pound Attic mina Australian pound Bahamian pound Bermudian pound Biafran pound British West African pound Byzantine litra Canadian pound Connecticut pound Cypriot pound Delaware pound Fijian pound French livre Livre parisis Livre tournois French colonial livre Guadeloupe livre Haitian livre New France livre Saint Lucia livre Gambian pound Georgia pound Ghanaian pound Irish punt Israeli lira Italian lira Italian East African lira Italian Somaliland lira Jaca pound Jamaican pound Japanese government-issued Oceanian pound Jersey livre Libyan pound Lombardo-Venetian lira Luccan lira Luxembourg livre Malawian pound Maltese pound Maryland pound Massachusetts pound New Brunswick pound New Guinean pound New Hampshire pound New Jersey pound New York pound New Zealand pound Newfoundland pound Nigerian pound North Carolina pound Nova Scotian pound Ottoman lira Palestine pound Papal lira Parman lira Pennsylvania pound Peruvian libra Pound Scots Prince Edward Island pound Rhode Island pound Rhodesian pound Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound Roman pound Sammarinese lira Sardinian lira Solomon Islands pound South Carolina pound Southern Rhodesian pound South African pound South West African pound Tongan pound Tripolitanian lira Tuscan lira Vatican lira Venetian lira Virginia pound Western Samoan pound Zambian pound
Historical antecedents (mass)	Roman pound (libra) Moneyer's pound (England) Grzywna (Grivna)
See also	Pound sign (£) Dinar Pound (mass) (℔) Roman currency Carolingian monetary system £sd

v t e Italian Somaliland
Main authorities	King & Emperor Vittorio Emanuele III Prime Minister Benito Mussolini List of governors-general of Italian East Africa Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi
Governors	Italian Governors of Somalia Main Colonial governors: Vincenzo Filonardi; Giacomo De Martino; Cesare Maria De Vecchi; Maurizio Rava; Rodolfo Graziani; Carlo De Simone
General history	Italian Somaliland Oltre Giuba Second Italo-Ethiopian War Somalia Governorate Italian invasion of British Somaliland Italian tentative to occupy French Somaliland East African Campaign Italian guerrilla war in A.O.I. (1941–1943) Trust Territory of Somaliland Italy–Somalia relations
Infrastructure	Mogadishu–Villabruzzi Railway Railway stations in Italian Somaliland Linea dell'Impero Petrella Airport Villa Somalia Governor's Palace of Mogadishu Porto di Mogadiscio Museo della Garesa Stadio Coni Mogadiscio Saline Dante Lido Beach
Related articles	Italian Somalis Mogadishu under Italian rule Villaggio Duca degli Abruzzi Genale Vittorio Port of Merca Dam of Genale Doria Banaadir Mogadiscio circuit Associazione Calcio Mogadiscio Faro Guardafui/F. Crispi Imperial Italy Italian East Africa Italian East African lira Italian Somaliland lira Italian Somaliland rupia Somalo Banca per l'Africa Orientale Postage stamps and postal history of Somalia Postage stamps and postal history of Eritrea Postage stamps and postal history of Oltre Giuba Catholic Church in Somalia Roman Catholic Diocese of Mogadishu Mogadishu Cathedral Italian language in Somalia Sentinels of Bronze Royal Banana Monopoly
Colonial troops	Royal Corps of Colonial Troops Royal Corps of Somali Colonial Troops Italian Somali Divisions (101 and 102) Dubats Italian African Police Bands Zaptié