What is shilling? This question was asked by anyone who at least once came across this term. This article will answer this question.
Shilling. Definition
Shilling is a generalized name for a number of metal bargaining coins of Western Europe. In the XX century, the national monetary units of some Western European countries also bore this name. It was from shilling that the name "shelag" came to the Old Russian language.
In some states, shilling is still used today, in particular in a number of African states that were previously colonially dependent on the British Empire.
History
In modern Germany, shilling began to be used in the XIV century. From the fifteenth century, it began to be used in the Danish Kingdom and the Netherlands, and in the sixteenth century, shilling came into circulation in England.
The English king Henry VII in 1502 ordered the minting of the first shilling in the British Isles. Initially, the coin was called "teston". Only under King Edward VI the coin acquired its current name. British shilling was used in the country until 1971.
In addition to the UK, shilling was used in Austria (replaced by the euro in 2002). Today, shilling is used as the official currency in a number of East African states, such as Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. They are also joined by the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland.
British shilling. Coins
British shilling is a coin that was used as bargaining chip in England. The people nicknamed him "Bob."
One British pound was divided into 20 shillings. In 1971, the shilling, whose photo you can see above, was replaced by pence. One shilling was equated to 5 pence.
The most common coins in England were two (florin) and five (krone) shillings. In addition to metal coins, paper notes with a face value of ten shillings were also issued.
Modern shillings. Course
Considering the fact that shillings are no longer used in Europe, this article will provide information on the course used in the modern world. Kenyan shilling in rubles will be approximately 0.55, respectively, for one ruble you will get about 1.8 KES. Compared to the dollar, the Kenyan shilling rate will be about $ 0.01, that is, for one American dollar you will receive about 103 KES.
A completely different situation is with the quotation of the Tanzanian shilling, which is estimated at approximately $ 0,0004, that is, for one dollar you will be given about 2,200 TZS. One Russian ruble is estimated at about 40 shillings of Tanzania.
Somali shilling costs about 0.01 Russian rubles, therefore, for one ruble they give about ten SOS. One American dollar contains about five hundred and eighty SOS. In dollars, one Somali shilling will be approximately $ 0.002.
One of the cheapest currencies in the world is the Ugandan shilling, the cost of which is estimated at approximately 0.0003 US dollars, that is, for one dollar you will get as much as 3600-3700 UGX! One Russian ruble can be exchanged for approximately 63-63 UGX, and for one Ugandan shilling you will be given no more than 0.02 rubles.
Such a low rate of African shillings is associated with the extreme poverty of the states where these monetary units are applied. Three of the four states (Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia) belong to the countries with the lowest per capita income, and Kenya, although it looks more prosperous against the background of its neighbors, is still a poor country. The difficult political situation, crime, the underdeveloped economy and almost total poverty have an extremely negative impact on the value of the national currency.
Exchange operations. Collecting
All instances of West European shillings, which were relatively recently used in different countries of Europe, now represent only collection and cultural value. However, numismatists and bonists from around the world are happy to purchase shillings in their collection.
The cost of shillings in the collectors' market is formed due to many factors: the year of minting or printing, country of residence, face value, degree of preservation, mint, etc.
The situation with modern shillings, that is, African ones, is completely different. They are not just collectors who do not want to buy them, but even residents of those countries where they are in official circulation are not particularly keen to get their currency. They are much more attracted by the opportunity to receive foreign money: dollars, euros, British pounds, etc. This is due to the fact that local currency units are very cheap and constantly depreciating, so getting paid in national currency is not only unprofitable, but also risky. because at any time there may be a devaluation of the state currency.
Therefore, if you decide to come to countries where this money is used, then you need to know what shillings are. In these countries, you can easily exchange dollars, euros, pounds and almost any other currency. Moreover, this can be done both in official financial organizations, and with local money lenders, who often exchange at a more favorable rate right on the street.
Conclusion
So what is shilling? This is the name of the banknotes used by different countries in different historical periods.
Shillings are so different that they share only their name and origin. Therefore, before answering the question: “What is shilling?”, It is necessary to clarify which country is shilling and in what historical period is meant.