2022-10-04 Tue

The Rupia was the currency of Italian Somaliland. Rupia was subdivided into 100 bese. It was introduced between 1909 and 1910.

The obverse of the coin depicts the portrait of Vittorio Emanuele III and the reverse shows denomination and date in 4 lines. It was minted at Rome mint in 1909.

Initially, bronze besa coins were introduced, followed by silver rupia coins issued in 1910. It replaced the Maria Theresa thaler and the Indian rupee to which it was equal. Later, rupia was replaced by the Italian Somaliland lira at a rate of 8 lire equivalent to 1 rupia.

The first banknote was issued between 1893 and 1896 by V. Filonardi & Company. The official banknotes were introduced by the Bank of Italy in 1920. These cash denominations were in 1, 5 and 10 rupie. 10 and 20 rupie were printed but never issued.

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia.com