Tanzanian shilling

Tanzanian shilling
Shilingi za Kitanzania (Swahili)
1,000/= note	The Bank of Tanzania headquarters in Dar es Salaam
ISO 4217
Code	TZS (numeric: 834)
Subunit	0.01
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	cent
Banknotes	500/=, 1,000/=, 2,000/=, 5,000/=, 10,000/=
Coins	50/=, 100/=, 200/=, 500/=
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.

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

Notation

Prices in the Tanzanian shilling are written in the form of x/y, where x is the amount above 1 shilling, while y is the amount in cents. An equals sign or hyphen represents zero amount. For example, 50 cents is written as "-/50" and 100 shillings as "100/=" or "100/-". Sometimes the abbreviation TSh is prefixed for distinction. If the amount is written using words as well as numerals, only the prefix is used (e.g. TSh 10 million).

This pattern was modelled on sterling's pre-decimal notation, in which 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.

Coins

In 1966, coins were introduced in denominations of -/5, -/10, -/20 and -/50 and 1/=, with the -/5 struck in bronze, the -/10 in nickel-brass (copper-nickel-zinc) and the -/50 and 1/= in cupro-nickel. Cupro-nickel 5/= coins were introduced in 1972, followed by scalloped, nickel-brass -/10 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 and 1/=, and cupro-nickel 5/= and 10/= coins were introduced, with the 5/= decagonal in shape. In 1990, nickel-clad-steel 5/=, 10/= and 20/= were introduced, followed by brass-plated steel coins for 100/= in 1993, 50/= in 1996 and copper-nickel-zinc 200/= in 1998.

Coins currently in circulation are the 50/=, 100/=, 200/=, and 500/=. The 500/= coin was issued on 8 September 2014.^[3]

Tanzanian shilling coins
Image	Value	Composition	Diameter	Weight	Thickness	Edge	Issued
	-/5	bronze	23.24 mm (dodecagonal)	4.0 g	1.33 mm	Smooth	1966-1984
	-/10	nickel-brass	25 mm (scalloped)	5.03 g	1.49 mm	Smooth	1977-1984
	-/20	nickel-brass	24 mm	5 g		Smooth	1966-1984
	-/50	copper-nickel	21 mm	4 g	1.6 mm	Reeded	1966-1984
	-/50	nickel-plated steel	21 mm	4 g	1.8 mm	Reeded	1988-1990
	1/=	copper-nickel	27.7 mm	8 g	1.62 mm	Reeded	1966-1984
	1/=	nickel-plated steel	23.5 mm	6.5 g		Reeded	1987-1992
	5/=	copper-nickel	31.5 mm (decagonal)	13.8 g	2.2 mm	Segmented; five smooth and reeded parts	1972-1980
	5/=	copper-nickel	27.5 mm (decagonal)	8.3 g	2 mm	Segmented; five smooth and reeded parts	1987-1989
	5/=	nickel-plated steel	27.5 mm (decagonal)	8.52 g	2 mm	Reeded	1990-1993
	10/=	copper-nickel	29 mm	9.7 g	2 mm	Reeded	1987-1989
	10/=	nickel-plated steel	29 mm	10 g	2.25 mm	Reeded	1990-1993
	20/=	nickel-plated steel	32 mm (heptagonal)	13 g	2 mm	Smooth	1990-1992
	50/=	brass-plated steel	22 mm (heptagonal)	7.91 g	2.9 mm	Smooth	1996
	100/=	brass-plated steel	24.5 mm	9 g	2.7 mm	Reeded	1993
	200/=	copper-nickel-zinc	26.8 mm	8 g	2 mm	Segmented; five smooth and reeded parts	1998, 2008, 2014
	500/=	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/=. The 5/= note was replaced by a coin in 1972. 50/= notes were introduced in 1985, followed by 200/= in 1986, 500/= in 1989 and 1,000/= in 1990. The 10/=, 20/=, 50/= and 100/= notes were replaced by coins in 1987, 1990, 1996 and 1994, respectively. 5,000/= and 10,000/= notes were introduced in 1995, followed by 2,000/= 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/=, 1,000/=, 2,000/=, 5,000/= and 10,000/=

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

1997 Series^[6]
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of issue	Watermark
Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue	Watermark
[2]	500 /= (Shilingi Mia Tano)	138 x 69 mm	Green	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; Zebra	Clove harvest; Uhuru Torch	1997	Giraffe
[3]	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	1997
[4]	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
[5]	5000 /= (Shillingi Elfu Tano)	145 x 73 mm	Purple	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; Rhino	Giraffes; Mt Kilimanjaro	1997
[6]	10,000 /= (Shilingi Elfu Kumi)	149 x 75 mm	Indigo	Tanzanian coat of arms; Giraffe; Lion	Bank of Tanzania; "House of Wonder" (Zanzibar)	1997
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2003 Series [7]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	Date of issue
		500/=	130 × 63 mm	Green	African Buffalo	Nkrumah Hall, University of Dar es Salaam	Giraffe	2003
		1,000/=	135 × 66 mm	Blue	Julius Nyerere	Statehouse, Dar es Salaam
		2,000/=	140 × 69 mm	Orange-brown	Lion, Mount Kilimanjaro	Old Fort, Stone Town, Zanzibar
		5,000/=	145 × 72 mm	Purple	Black Rhinoceros	Geita gold Mine and House of Wonders Zanzibar
		10,000/=	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 Colour	Description		Date of issue	Date of first issue	Watermark
Obverse	Reverse	Values	Dimensions	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse	Date of issue	Date of first issue	Watermark
		500/=	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
		1,000/=	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
		2,000/=	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
		5,000/=	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/=	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 CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KES
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KES
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KES
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD KES

References

Notes

^ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Tanzania". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
^ "Bank of Tanzania: Banking Operations - Currency Museum: Coins". bot-tz.org. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
^ "Image: IMG-20140907-WA0006.jpg, (960 × 1280 px)". bot.go.tz. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
^ Tanzania new note family confirmed BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
^ [1] The Citizen. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
^ "Bank of Tanzania Historical Notes". bot. Bank of Tanzania. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
^ "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
[8] (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 demonetised until 1969	Currency of Tanzania 1966 –	Succeeded by: Current

[1] Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Tanzania". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.

[bot-tz-2] "Bank of Tanzania: Banking Operations - Currency Museum: Coins". bot-tz.org. Retrieved 2015-09-03.

[bot2-3] "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] [1] The Citizen. Retrieved 2011-10-22.

[bot-6] "Bank of Tanzania Historical Notes". bot. Bank of Tanzania. Retrieved 2015-07-05.

[banknotenews-7] "Tanzania new note family confirmed | Africa | Banknote News". banknotenews.com. Retrieved 2015-09-03.

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v t e Economy of Tanzania
Currency	Tanzanian shilling Bank of Tanzania	Flag of Tanzania
History	Ujamaa Zanzibar Economy Poverty
Industry and business	Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) Agriculture Coffee Cashew Sisal Sugar Mining Companies Tourism
Government agencies	Chamber of Commerce Tanzania Ports Authority Taxation
Transport and infrastructure	Airports Roads Rail TAZARA Railway DART Julius Nyerere International Airport
Communications	TTCL Vodacom tiGO Airtel Halotel Sasatel SEACOM EASSy
Finance and banking	Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) Banking Microfinance Telecommunications
Economic blocks	East African Community Southern African Development Community
Energy	TANESCO Power Plants Petroleum Development Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission
Future	East African Railway Master Plan Mtwara Development Corridor

v t e Currencies of Africa
North	Algerian dinar Egyptian pound Euro Libyan dinar Mauritanian ouguiya Moroccan dirham Sahrawi peseta (unrecognized) Sudanese pound Tunisian dinar
Central	Angolan kwanza Burundian franc Central African CFA franc Congolese franc Rwandan franc
East	Comorian franc Djiboutian franc Eritrean nakfa Ethiopian birr Kenyan shilling Seychellois rupee Somali shilling Somaliland shilling (unrecognized) South Sudanese pound Tanzanian shilling Ugandan shilling
South	Botswana pula Sterling Euro Lesotho loti Malagasy ariary Malawian kwacha Mauritian rupee Mozambican metical Namibian dollar Saint Helena pound South African rand Swazi lilangeni Zambian kwacha Zimbabwe Gold mosi-oa-Tunya
West	Cape Verdean escudo Euro Gambian dalasi Ghanaian cedi Guinean franc Liberian dollar Nigerian naira São Tomé and Príncipe dobra Sierra Leonean leone West African CFA franc

v t e Currency units named shilling or similar
Circulating	Israeli shekel Kenyan shilling Peruvian sol Somali shilling Somaliland shilling Tanzanian shilling Ugandan shilling
Defunct	Argentine sol Australian shilling Austrian schilling Bavarian schilling Biafran shilling Bolivian sol British shilling Cypriot shilling East African shilling English shilling Fijian shilling Flemish schelling French sou French colonial sou Guadeloupe sou Haitian sou New France sou Saint Lucia sou Gambian shilling Ghanaian shilling Hamburg and Lübeck schilling Irish scilling Israeli old shekel Italian soldo Japanese government-issued Oceanian shilling Jersey sou Lombardo-Venetian soldo Luccan soldo Luxembourg sou Malawian shilling Massachusetts pine tree shilling Mecklenburg schilling New Zealand shilling Nigerian shilling Papal soldo Parman soldo Peruvian sol de oro Polish szeląg Portuguese soldo Rhodesian shilling Rhodesia and Nyasaland shilling Roman solidus Sardinian soldo Scandinavian skilling Schleswig-Holstein schilling courant Scots shilling Shekel Southern Rhodesian shilling South African sjieling Spanish sueldo Ticinese soldo Tuscan soldo Ukrainian shah Venetian soldo Wörgl schilling Württemberg schilling Zambian shilling
As a denomination	Canadian sou Egyptian shelen Vietnamese xu
Proposed	East African shilling
See also	Shilling mark (/–) Roman currency Carolingian monetary system £sd