Kenya is a country with a rich culture, history, beautiful nature and friendly, hospitable people. It differs in geographical diversity: on its territory there are snow-capped mountain peaks, vast forests and open plains. The official currency of the country is Kenyan shilling.
About Kenya
The country's key geographical attractions are the Great Rift Valley, which has extinct volcanoes and hot springs, as well as the Kenyan coastline with reefs and magnificent beaches. All this, together with a well-developed tourist infrastructure of hotels, houses, campsites and various events, makes Kenya a popular tourist destination, attracting millions of travelers every year.
The country's territory occupies about 582,000 square meters. km, it is located at the equator. If you look at the map of Kenya, you can see that it borders on five countries:
- Uganda (in the west)
- Sudan (in the northwest),
- Ethiopia (in the north),
- Somalia (northeast),
- Tanzania (in the south).
Along its southeastern edge, the tropical coast of the country is washed by the Indian Ocean.
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is located in the southwest. Other major cities are Mombasa (located on the coast), Nakuru and Eldoret (west-central region) and Kisumu (located in the west on the shores of Lake Victoria).
Early Currencies, Trading and Exchange
Prior to the advent of modern currency, Kenyan communities traded and exchanged goods and services with each other or used intermediaries. Various objects were found in archaeological excavations, which indicated the presence of a thriving commercial culture in the past. These subjects helped historians and anthropologists map the early trading countries and determine the degree of contact between different communities. Barter was one of the main forms of trading in these early periods. Kenya traded agricultural and livestock products. Thanks to trade caravans, exchanges began to be conducted with remote territories: ivory, salt and iron began to act as a subject of trade.
The use of kauri shells, fabrics, wire and beads in the interior as currencies provided the formation of a key component of money in the early periods. It was the development of a barter trading system that had already experienced problems with differentiation. Such currencies were the forerunners of formal currencies, they were easy to transfer and share, while their usefulness (mainly related to jewelry) guaranteed widespread use. By 1902, a half-cent coin was introduced to replace the kauri (nsimbi), which was used in Uganda.
Banknotes and coins
The early use of Kenyan money began with the influence of the Arabs, who were among the first to use currency. In Muscat, they used a silver coin called the thaler of Maria Theresa, minted in Austria in 1741. By the 1860s, sailing vessels from the United States of America began to visit Zanzibar, as a result of which not only coarse cloth (Merikani), but also the United States silver dollar was used as a means of payment.
Around the same period, silver rupee minted by the British East India Company (1600-1858) was increasingly used along the coast of the Indian Ocean. These two silver coins had the same quality, but different weight, so the exchange rate was determined by the amount of silver in each.
The imperial British company in East Africa (IBEA) has received trade concessions in the area today called Kenya. Then they began to use rupees, paisas and annas as the currency of the region.
However, the IBEA went bankrupt, with the result that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed responsibility for the area. Copper paisas continued to be minted and used. Indian rupees and some small silver coins were still used and, therefore, easily exchanged with equivalent Indian coins of the same denomination (taking into account weight and suitability).
After World War I, in December 1919, it was decided to replace the Mombasa Monetary Council with the London East African Monetary Council (EACB). It was supposed to introduce new coins for East Africa. At the same time, it was considered advisable to change the currency from rupees and cents to the currency convertible into pounds, thereby breaking the link with India and indirectly reducing the economic power of the Asian community.
The recently created EACB introduced an intermediate currency of Kenya and two other countries, based on English florin with the idea that this will facilitate the transition from rupee to shilling. Florin was the same size and shape as the rupee, and the same quality of silver. This was a step towards the emergence of Kenyan shilling. This currency was interchangeable with the pound. Twenty shillings changed by one pound, and in the end, only shillings and cents remained in circulation.
The emergence of own money
As East African territories became independent after 1962, the EACB stopped issuing banknotes depicting the monarch and removed its name from the coins. The EACB has decided to introduce so-called intermediate currencies for distribution in the region.
Due to the image on the banknotes of Lake Victoria, this intermediate currency is called the “Lake”. His images were on banknotes of 5, 10, 20 and 100 shillings. It was printed on all banknotes, and the lake itself was a common territory for the three countries. For the first time in Kenya, inscriptions in Swahili appeared, but inscriptions in Arabic were preserved.
With the establishment of separate 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 accordance with the Law on the Central Bank of Kenya. Banknotes of the Central Bank of Kenya were legalized in accordance with Law No. 252 of 1966 of July 1, 1966. Coins were issued in April 1967. EACB banknotes ceased to be legal tender in September 1967, and EACB coins went out of circulation in April 1969.
Initially, Kenyan currency banknotes were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 shillings, all had a portrait of Kenya's first president, Mzi Jomo Kenyatta, on the front and various scenes of economic activity in Kenya on the other hand. These notes were the first to use the dual titles of Banki Kuu ya Kenya and the Central Bank of Kenya.
On April 10, 1967, new Kenya currency coins were issued in denominations of 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents and 1 shilling. The coins were minted by the Royal Mint and made of a copper-nickel alloy. As on banknotes, the obverse depicts a portrait of Kenya's founding father Mzi Jomo Kenyatta.
Special Editions
To mark some national and central banking events, the Central Bank of Kenya issues special anniversary money. They are limited in number and specially printed or minted in honor of any event or person. Due to this feature and the use of precious materials such as gold or silver, this money is unique and is in demand among numismatists.
Modern money
The current currency in Kenya is the Kenyan Shilling (KES), which consists of 100 cents (c). The coins that are currently used for trading are available in the names 50 c and 1 Shs, 5 Shs, 10 Shs, 20 Shs and 40 Shs.
Banknotes are available in denominations of 50 Shs, 100 Shs, 200 Shs, 500 Shs and 1000 Shs.
The Kenyan currency exchange rate against the dollar is 1000 KES = 9.866 USD.