Three years after Tanzania was united and gained independence from Britain, the East African Currency Board (EACB) was dissolved in 1965. In addition, Tanzania established its own central bank and currency.
The East Africa Shilling
The Tanzanian shilling (TZS) is the official currency of the United Republic of Tanzania. It is equivalent to 100 senti. The Tanzanian shilling replaced the East African shilling in 1965 at par. The Tanzanian shilling is a free-floating currency that is not pegged to any other monetary unit.
The Bank of Tanzania was established in 1965. It opened and started its operations on June 14, 1966. It manages and issues the Tanzanian shilling.
Progress Of The Tanzania Shilling
Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania is on all the banknotes from 1966 to 1986. Three different portraits of Nyerere were featured in four different banknote families. In 1985, a controversial version of the Tanzanian map was printed on the banknotes issued in the year. The map in question did not include the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and also Zanzibar. However, a year later, the map features the correction.
When Ali Hassan Mwinyi took office in 1986, his portrait replaced Nyerere’s. Mwinyi’s administration lasted for ten years.
Modern Notes
In 1997, two years after Mwinyi ended his term as president, the Bank of Tanzania issued notes that did not feature any people. Instead giraffe heads replace portraits of the presidents. At the turn of the millennium in 2000, the bank issued a new 1,000 shilling note that featured Nyerere. Three years later, various animals are also on the notes except the 1,000 shilling, which still had the portrait of Nyerere.
In 2011, a new family of Tanzania Shillingnotes starts to circulate. These notes also feature different people and animals in front and landmarks at the back. These notes also had upgraded security threads and also had various printers.