Tanzanian shilling

The shilingi (Swahili; English: shilling; sign: TSh; code: TZS) is the currency of Tanzania. It is subdivided into 100 senti (cents in English). The Tanzanian shilling replaced the East African shilling on 14 June 1966 at par.[1]

Tanzanian shilling
Shilingi ya Tanzania  (Swahili)
1000 shillings The Bank of Tanzania headquarters in Dar es Salaam
ISO 4217
Code	TZS
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	senti
Symbol	TSh
Banknotes	500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 shilingi
Coins	50, 100, 200, 500 shilingi
Demographics
User(s)	Tanzania
Issuance
Central bank	Bank of Tanzania
Website	Bank of Tanzania website
Valuation
Inflation	5.6%
Source	The World Factbook, 2015 est.

"Shilingi" redirects here. For the currency of Kenya whose Swahili name is "shilingi", see Kenyan shilling.

For earlier currencies used in Tanzania, see East African florin, East African rupee, East African shilling, Zanzibari rupee, Zanzibari ryal and German East African rupie.

Symbol

Main article: Solidus (symbol)

Amount in the Tanzanian shilingi is written in the form of x/y, where x is the amount above 1 shiling, while y is the amount in senti. An equals sign or hyphen represents zero amount. For example, 50 senti is written as "=/50" or "-/50", while 100 shilingi is written as "100/=" or "100/-". In common, daily use, the symbol TSh is used.

This pattern echos the notation in Britain before decimalisation, when amounts were written in some combination of pounds (£), shillings (s), and pence (d, for denarius). In that notation, amounts under a pound were notated only in shillings and pence: sixpence was written "-/6" or "-/6d", 2 shillings as "2/-" or "2s/-", 2 shillings and 6 pence as "2/6" or "2/6d", and so forth.

Coins

A 200 tz shillings front.

In 1966, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 20 and 50 senti and 1 shilingi, with the 5 senti struck in bronze, the 20 senti in nickel-brass (copper-nickel-zinc) and the 50 senti and 1 shillingi in cupro-nickel. Cupro-nickel 5 shilingi coins were introduced in 1972, followed by scalloped, nickel-brass 10 senti in 1977. This First Series coins set, in circulation from 1966 up to 1984, was designed by Christopher Ironside OBE.[2]

In 1987, nickel-plated steel replaced cupro-nickel in the 50 senti and 1 shilingi, and cupro-nickel 5 and 10 shilingi coins were introduced, with the 5 shilingi decagonal in shape. In 1990, nickel-clad-steel 5, 10 and 20 shilingi were introduced, followed by brass-plated steel coins for 100 shilingi in 1993, 50 shilingi in 1996 and copper-nickel-zinc 200 shilingi in 1998.

Coins currently in circulation are the 50, 100 and 200 shilingi. A 500 shilingi coin was issued on 8 September 2014.[3]

Tanzanian shilling coins
Image	Value	Composition	Diameter	Weight	Thickness	Edge	Issued
	5 senti	bronze	23.24 mm (dodecagonal)	4.0 g	1.33 mm	Smooth	1966-1984
	10 senti	nickel-brass	25 mm (scalloped)	5.03 g	1.49 mm	Smooth	1977-1984
	20 senti	nickel-brass	24 mm	5 g		Smooth	1966-1984
	50 senti	copper-nickel	21 mm	4 g	1.6 mm	Reeded	1966-1984
	50 senti	nickel-plated steel	21 mm	4 g	1.8 mm	Reeded	1988-1990
	1 shilingi	copper-nickel	27.7 mm	8 g	1.62 mm	Reeded	1966-1984
	1 shilingi	nickel-plated steel	23.5 mm	6.5 g		Reeded	1987-1992
	5 shilingi	copper-nickel	31.5 mm (decagonal)	13.8 g	2.2 mm	Segmented; five smooth and reeded parts	1972-1980
	5 shilingi	copper-nickel	27.5 mm (decagonal)	8.3 g	2 mm	Segmented; five smooth and reeded parts	1987-1989
	5 shilingi	nickel-plated steel	27.5 mm (decagonal)	8.52 g	2 mm	Reeded	1990-1993
	10 shilingi	copper-nickel	29 mm	9.7 g	2 mm	Reeded	1987-1989
	10 shilingi	nickel-plated steel	29 mm	10 g	2.25 mm	Reeded	1990-1993
	20 shilingi	nickel-plated steel	32 mm (heptagonal)	13 g	2 mm	Smooth	1990-1992
	50 shilingi	brass-plated steel	22 mm (heptagonal)	7.91 g	2.9 mm	Smooth	1996
	100 shilingi	brass-plated steel	24.5 mm	9 g	2.7 mm	Reeded	1993
	200 shilingi	copper-nickel-zinc	26.8 mm	8 g	2 mm	Segmented; five smooth and reeded parts	1998
	500 shilingi	nickel-plated steel	27.5 mm	9.5 g	2.4 mm	Reeded	2014

Banknotes

On 14 June 1966, the Benki Kuu Ya Tanzania (Bank of Tanzania) introduced notes for 5, 10, 20 and 100 shillingi (also denominated in shillings on the first series of notes). The 5 shillingi note was replaced by a coin in 1972. 50 shillingi notes were introduced in 1985, followed by 200 shilingi in 1986, 500 shillingi in 1989 and 1000 shillingi in 1990. The 10, 20, 50 and 100 shillingi notes were replaced by coins in 1987, 1990, 1996 and 1994, respectively. 5000 and 10,000 shillingi notes were introduced in 1995, followed by 2000 shilingi in 2003. A new series of notes came out in 2011. These new notes include many security features that prevent counterfeiting.[4][5]

Banknotes in circulation today are 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10,000 shilingi.

Older Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark
		10/- (Ten Shillings)	-	Green	Julius Nyerere	Arusha Declaration Monument	Giraffe	-
		20/- (Twenty Shillings)	-	Blue-violet	Julius Nyerere	General Tyre East Africa Plant
		100/- (One Hundred Shillings)	-	Red	Julius Nyerere	Maasai

1997 Series[6]
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of issue	Watermark
				Obverse	Reverse
	500/- (Shilingi Mia Tano)	138 x 69 mm	Green	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; Zebra	Clove harvest; Uhuru Torch	1997	Giraffe
	1000/- (Shillingi Elfu Moja)	142 x 71 mm	Red	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; African Elephant	Kiwira coal mine; Door of People's Bank of Zanzibar
	1000/- (Shilingi Elfu Moja)	142 x 71 mm	Red	Tanzanian coat of arms; Julius Nyerere; African Elephant	Kiwira coal mine; Door of People's Bank of Zanzibar	2000/-
	5000/- (Shillingi Elfu Tano)	145 x 73 mm	Purple	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; Rhino	Giraffes; Mt Kilimanjaro	1997
	10,000/- (Shilingi Elfu Kumi)	149 x 75 mm	Indigo	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; Lion	Bank of Tanzania; "House of Wonder" (Zanzibar)
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2003 Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark
		500/- (Shilingi Mia Tano)	130 × 63 mm	Green	African Buffalo	Nkrumah Hall, University of Dar es Salaam	Giraffe	2003
		1000/- (Shilingi Elfu Moja)	135 × 66 mm	Blue	Julius Nyerere	Statehouse, Dar es Salaam
		2000/- (Shillingi Elfu Mbili)	140 × 69 mm	Orange-brown	Lion, Mount Kilimanjaro	Old Fort, Stone Town, Zanzibar
		5000/- (Shillingi Elfu Tano)	145 × 72 mm	Purple	Black Rhinoceros	Geita gold Mine and House of Wonders Zanzibar
		10,000/- (Shillingi Elfu Kumi)	150 × 75 mm	Red	Elephant	Bank of Tanzania headquarters in Dar es Salaam
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Currently in Circulation

2011 Series[7]
Image		Values	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of issue	Date of first issue	Watermark
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		500/- (Shilingi Mia Tano)	120 x 60 mm	Green	Tanzanian coat of arms; Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume	University of Dar es Salaam central hall building; graduating students wearing caps and gowns; Aesculap's rod	2011	1 January 2010	Julius Kambarage Nyerere with electrotype 500
		1000/- (Shillingi Elfu Moja)	125 x 65 mm	Blue	Tanzanian coat of arms; President Julius Kambarage Nyerere; Bismarck Rock in Mwanza Harbor	Coffee plant; State House (Ikulu) building with flag in Dar es Salaam			Julius Kambarage Nyerere with electrotype 1000
		2000/- (Shilingi Elfu Mbili)	130 x 66 mm	Orange	Tanzanian coat of arms; Lion	Palm trees; old Omani Arab Fort (Ngome Kongwe) in Zanzibar’s Stone Town; carved block			Julius Kambarage Nyerere with electrotype 2000
		5000/- (Shillingi Elfu Tano)	135 x 67 mm	Purple	Tanzanian coat of arms; plant; black rhinoceros	Cyanid Leaching plant of the gold mines of Geita			Julius Kambarage Nyerere with electrotype 5000
		10,000/- (Shilingi Elfu Kumi)	140 x 68 mm	Red	Tanzanian coat of arms; Elephant	Flowers; Bank of Tanzania headquarters building in Dar es Salaam			Julius Kambarage Nyerere with electrotype 10000
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Current TZS exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY USD
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY USD
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY USD
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY USD
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY USD

See also

• Economy of Tanzania

References

Notes

1. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Tanzania". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
2. "Bank of Tanzania: Banking Operations - Currency Museum: Coins". bot-tz.org. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
3. "Image: IMG-20140907-WA0006.jpg, (960 × 1280 px)". bot.go.tz. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
4. Tanzania new note family confirmed BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
5. The Citizen. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
6. "Bank of Tanzania Historical Notes". bot. Bank of Tanzania. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
7. "Tanzania new note family confirmed | Africa | Banknote News". banknotenews.com. Retrieved 2015-09-03.

Sources

• Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.

External links

• Bank of Tanzania page on circulating banknotes
• The banknotes of Tanzania
• (in English, German, and French)

Preceded by: East African shilling Reason: currency independence Ratio: at par Note: independent shilling introduced in 1966, but EA shilling not demonetized until 1969	Currency of Tanzania 1966 –	Succeeded by: Current