The shilling (Swahili: shilingi; abbreviation: KSh; ISO code: KES) is the currency of Kenya. It is divided into 100 cents. Prices in the Kenyan shilling are written in the form of x/y, where x is the amount in shillings, 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 KSh is prefixed for distinction. If the amount is written using words as well as numerals, only the prefix is used.
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).
Early Use of Currency in Kenya
Early use of currency in Kenya commenced with the Arab influence who were among the first to use currency as we know it. In Muscat, they used a silver coin called the Maria Theresa Thaler (MT$), first minted in Austria in 1741 and, not surprisingly, they continued using it when the Sultanate moved to Zanzibar in 1832. Around the same period, the silver rupee minted by the British East India Company (1600-1858) was increasingly being used along the Indian Ocean coast as the monsoon-dependent dhow trade with India expanded.
The British chartered company, the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEA), got the concession to trade in the area referred to as Kenya today. However, IBEA went bankrupt resulting in the Foreign Office taking responsibility of the area. Penetration of coins and notes only started when construction of the railway commenced in Mombasa in May, 1896, to reach Port Florence - present day Kisumu - in December, 1901. The construction, largely the work of Indian labour meant familiarity with the use of rupee coins and notes. The use of these rupees inland was noted by the different communities, introducing words into their languages for currency.
The East African Currency Board
After the World War I, the East African Protectorate was not left out in trying to cope with the challenges of the post war, economic environment. Into this confused money market, a decision was made in December, 1919, to replace the Mombasa Currency Board with a London based East African Currency Board (EACB) which would cater for the existing Protectorates as well as the newly acquired responsibility of providing currency to the Tanganyika Trust Territory. The new coins would be for “East Africa”.
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The newly established EACB introduced an intermediate currency based on the English Florin with the thought that it would ease the transformation from Rupee to Shilling. The Florin would be the same size and shape as the Rupee and also be of silver substrate. This then became the advent of the shilling in Kenya.
As the East African territories became independent in sequence from 1962 the EACB ceased to issue notes with the image of the monarch and removed her name from the coinage. There was a desire by the three East African countries to establish a common East African Central Bank.
For the banknotes, the interim currency was commonly known as the “Lake Issue” currency because of the background of Lake Victoria on the notes. The notes all showed a dhow on Lake Victoria which was common territory to the three countries. The Lake Victoria designed notes were in the denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 100 shillings. For the first time, use of Hindi on the notes was dropped and Swahili first featured on these common currencies.
Introduction of the Kenyan Shilling
With the establishment of individual Central Banks for the three East African countries, Kenya began printing and minting its own currency under the mandate given to the Central Bank of Kenya in the Central Bank of Kenya Act cap 491. Banknotes for the Central Bank of Kenya, although not yet issued, were legalised under Legal Notice number 252 of 1966 dated 1st July, 1966. Coins were issued in April 1967.
On 14 September 1966, the Kenyan shilling replaced the East African shilling at par, although the latter was not demonetised until 1969.
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The Central Bank of Kenya issued notes in denominations of 5/=, 10/=, 20/=, 50/= and 100/=. 5/= notes were replaced by coins in 1985, with the same happening to 10/= and 20/= in 1994 and 1998.
The First Coins of Independent Kenya
The first coins were issued in 1966 in denominations of -/5, -/10, -/25 and -/50, and 1/= and 2/=; -/25 coins were not minted after 1969 (except in the 1973 set); 2/= coins were last minted in 1971 (except in the 1973 set).
On April 10, 1967, new Kenya shilling coins were issued in the denominations of 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents and 1 shilling. The coins were minted by the Royal Mint of U.K. and made from cupro-nickel.
Between 1967 and 1978, the portrait of Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, originally appeared on the obverse of all of independent Kenya's coins. Like the notes, the obverse featured the portrait of Kenya’s founding father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
As with the coins, Kenyatta appeared on the banknotes issued until 1978, with Daniel arap Moi's portrait replacing him in 1980.
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In 1980, a portrait of Daniel arap Moi replaced Kenyatta until 2005, when the central bank introduced a new coin series that restored the portrait of Kenyatta.
In 2003, after Mwai Kibaki replaced Moi as president, 5/=, 10/=, and 20/= notes from the 1978 series with Kenyatta's picture that had been in storage were issued, and circulated for a time. A new series of notes was then introduced on which Kenyatta reappeared in denominations of 50/=, 100/=, 200/=, 500/= and 1,000/=.
The issue of the 200/= banknote dated 12 December 2003 commemorates the "40 years of Independence 1963-2003".
The coins are -/50 and 1/= in stainless steel and bi-metallic coins of 5/=, 10/= and 20/=.
New coins with the image of Kenyatta were issued in 2005.
Features of the new Kenyan currency notes.
Constitutional Requirements and New Coin Series
In 2010, Section 231(4) of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya stated "Notes and coins issued by the Central Bank of Kenya may bear images that depict or symbolise Kenya or an aspect of Kenya but may not bear the portrait of any individual." New banknotes and coins were scheduled to be released by 2018 to meet up with this new law.
A new series of coins was issued on 11 December 2018, in denominations of 1/=, 5/=, 10/= and 20/=.
On 31 May 2019, the Central Bank of Kenya issued a new family of banknotes without the portraits of known Kenyan individuals, as mandated by the Constitution of Kenya of 2010. At the same time, the Central Bank of Kenya has withdrawn all previous versions of the 1,000/= banknote. These remained legal tender until 1 October 2019.
All of the banknotes for this series share a common design of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on the front side of the notes, and the back side of the notes feature images showcasing the richness of the people and nature of Kenya: "Green Energy" (50/=), "Agriculture" (100/=), "Social Services" (200/=), "Tourism" (500/=) and "Governance" (1,000/=).
The Central Bank of Kenya introduced an updated series of banknotes beginning with the KES 1,000 denomination in 2024. This newly released banknote retains a similar design to the previous series but features several key updates.
During the initial announcement of the updated banknotes, some online controversy arose after the Central Bank of Kenya's governor mentioned that a German company had been awarded the printing contract but did not specify the specific company.
Acceptance Issues
Sellers and consumers alike, especially within the rural areas, have increasingly rejected the 50 cents and 1 shilling coins, despite assurances from the Central Bank of Kenya regarding their continued validity.
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