Great Britain administered the former Italian Somaliland until December 1949, when the UN—with the goal of an independent Somalia by 1960—arranged an Italian trusteeship of its onetime colony. The postwar British administration had made do with paper money, and although some had been fractional notes (joined by random coins), when the new Italian trustees introduced this 1950 1-somalo, and its smaller 1-centesimo and 5-, 10, and 50-centesimi siblings, they were met with real enthusiasm by the coin-hungry Somalis. The new coins had no trouble displacing the admixture of East African shillings, and Egyptian and British coins then circulating in the area.
This 1950 1-somalo was coined in relatively large numbers, and continued to circulate after Somali independence in July 1960. They remained in circulation until the new national coinage came along in 1967.
By then, of course, their poor silver and hard use had made many of these 1950 1-somalo pieces some very tired critters indeed.
v.
