The shilling ( sw, shilingi; abbreviation: KSh; ISO code: KES) is the currency of

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. It is divided into 100 cents.

Notation

Prices in the Kenyan shilling are written in the form of , where x is the amount in shillings, while y is the amount in cents. An

equals sign The equals sign (British English, Unicode) or equal sign (American English), also known as the equality sign, is the mathematical symbol , which is used to indicate equality in some well-defined sense. In an equation, it is placed between tw ...

hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes ( figure ...

represents zero amount. For example, 50 cents is written as "" and 100 shillings as "" 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 (e.g. KSh 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 The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

). In that notation, amounts under a pound were notated only in shillings and pence.

History

The Kenyan shilling replaced the East African shilling in 1966 at par.

Coins

The first coins were issued in 1966 in denominations of , , and , and 1/= and 2/=; coins were not minted after 1969 (except in the 1973 set); 2/= coins were last minted in 1971 (except in the 1973 set). In 1973 and 1985, 5/= coins were introduced, followed by 10/= in 1994 and 20/= in 1998. Between 1967 and 1978, the portrait of

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti- colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

, the first president of Kenya, originally appeared on the obverse of all of independent Kenya's coins. 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. The coins are and 1/= in stainless steel and bi-metallic coins of 5/=, 10/= and 20/=. A bi-metallic 40/= coin with the portrait of then-President

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...

was issued in 2003 to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Kenyan independence (1963). File:Kenya05shillingbmobv.jpg, 5/= coin – obverse File:Kenya05shillingbmrev.jpg, 5/= coin – reverse File:Kenya10shillingbmrev.jpg, 10/= coin File:Kenya20shillingbmrev.jpg, 20/= coin File:KES40.jpg , 40/= commemorative coin New coins with the image of Kenyatta were issued in 2005. 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 , , and . All of the coins depict the national Coat of arms of Kenya on the obverse and images of Africa's recognisable animals on the reverse. The new series of coins is designed to be more recognisable for visually impaired people.

Banknotes

On 14 September 1966, the Kenyan shilling replaced the East African shilling at par, although the latter was not demonetised until 1969. The

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ( sw, Banki Kuu ya Kenya) is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge ...

issued notes in denominations of 5/=, 10/=, 20/=, 50/= and 100/=. All of the notes feature a portrait of Kenya's first prime minister and president, Jomo Kenyatta, on the front and diverse economic activities on the back. 5/= notes were replaced by coins in 1985, with the same happening to 10/= and 20/= in 1994 and 1998. In 1986, 200/= notes were introduced, followed by 500/= in 1988 and 1,000/= in 1994. As with the coins, Kenyatta appeared on the banknotes issued until 1978, with Daniel arap Moi's portrait replacing him in 1980. In 2003, after

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 banknotes are printed in Nairobi by security printer

De La Rue De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printe ...

. 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/=). All five denominations also embody each of the big five animals of Africa: the buffalo (50/=), the leopard (100/=), rhinoceros (200/=), the lion (500/=) and the elephant (1,000/=).

Exchange rate

The current exchange rate is readily obtainable from services such as those in the table below:

References

External links

Official website of the Central Bank of Kenya

Benstride
{{Portal bar, Africa, Kenya, Money, Numismatics Circulating currencies Currencies of Africa Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies of Kenya

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

Currencies introduced in 1966