“Money Talks” Article by: Dale Sanford. Images courtesy of: Sanford Archives

How Uganda’s Currency Has Evolved Over 300 Years

The first recognizable “currency” in Uganda was probably ivory disks 300 years ago and then cowrie shells introduced by Arab traders from the coast about 200 years ago. The British used the Indian Rupee until the introduction of the East African shilling in the 1920s.

Shilling was the name of the currency first used in England nearly 500 years ago. It has given the English language some colourful expressions such as describing someone as being “not quite the full shilling”, meaning one sandwich short of a picnic. The “Schilling” was also a currency in Austria until it adopted the Euro in 2002.

An East African Shilling (Shilingi in Swahili) was made up of 100 cents and some of the 5 and 10 cent coins from the 1930-50’s had holes in the center and became great collector’s items. East African shillings were also used at various times by Somalia and Ethiopia.

The Evolution of East African Currencies: From Independence to a Unified Future

After independence, each country wanted its own currency so the East African shilling was replaced in 1966 by the Ugandan shilling. The smallest coin was 5 cents and largest note 100 shillings. The EAC (East African Community) has ambitious plans to revive the East African shilling as a common currency by 2031.

Just as the term “bucks” is used to mean any type of dollars, so the nickname for shillings is “bob” as in “Can you lend me five thousand bob until tomorrow?” It also appears in the phrase “bent as a 9-bob note”, meaning someone who is dishonest and corrupt. Traditionally 20 shillings makes one “pound” and this term is sometimes still used in Kenya and lives on in the slang term “Mbao” for a 20-bob note.

The symbol is USh or just Sh if there’s no chance of confusing it with neighbours shillings KSh or TSh. However, you often see variations and the local predilection for long abbreviations has even led to Ugshs. The symbol after the number /= is a historical hangover from when shillings were divided into 100 cents so 5/= indicates exactly five shillings and no cents. Cents (Senti in Swahili) is the origin of the word “Sente” for money in some local languages. Inflation has made cents virtually worthless and they were formally dropped in 2013.

A recent trend has seen more people using the international code UGX. This replaced the original code UGS in 1987 with the re-launch of the national currency. At that time, the smallest coin was 1/= and the largest note 200/=. Another trend is to put the currency after the number. This has been combined with the universal adoption of “K” to mean “thousand” so instead of USh 20,000 /= you will also see it written as 20 K UGX.

Images on notes in the past included presidents Obote and Amin as well as animals and infrastructure. A favourite was the old USh 5,000 note the showing a train driving onto the ferry “Kahawa” which took train wagons across Lake Victoria between Port Bell and Tanzania’s second-largest city Mwanza on the southern Lakeshore. Sometimes a few passengers were allowed aboard (in special circumstances – related to shillings, obviously!)  I travelled on it in the late 1990s, crossing the equator during the overnight journey, with gently creaking train wagons of coffee for export down below and above me the stars in middle of the lake at midnight. After sleeping in a basic cabin hired out from one of the crew, I woke up as we entered the bustling port of Mwanza and headed straight to the railway station for the train down to the Indian Ocean. MV Kahawa is still in operation today and if you get the chance, I can thoroughly recommend taking it.

Banknotes often showcase a country’s history, culture and natural resources and give a flavour of how the country sees itself. Today’s shillings are colourful and modern, with concrete structures and various national monuments instead of a president’s face! Holding a note up to the light, you’ll see a crested crane (the national bird), as a watermark. The six denominations all depict aspects of the country’s natural riches, providing plenty of material for a pub quiz and inspiration to go on safari to visit all the different locations. Also, the value is written in in both of Uganda’s national languages, so it’s a useful way to learn or brush up your Swahili.

The Sh 1,000 note (shilingi elfu moja) is brown and features the Nyero rock paintings near Kumi as well as kob antelope, large herds of which provide lion food in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks. The Sh 2,000 (elfu mbili) is blue and shows the Source of Nile at Jinja as well as tilapia fish (the traditional lakeside meal, deep-fried whole with chips). Sh 5,000 (elfu tano) is green and has a view of the Rwenzori mountains as well as weaver birds (whose raucous colonies are often found in tall bamboo thickets). Sh 10,000 (elfu kumi) is purple and shows Sipi Falls near Kapchorwa as well as plantains (“Matooke”, an acquired taste for many visitors but deeply revered by locals).  Sh 20,000 (elfu ishirini) is red and has Lake Nyinambuga near Fort Portal as well as Ankole cattle with their impressive giant horns.  Sh 50,000 (elfu hamsini) is yellow and features a view of Bwindi “impenetrable” forest as well as the gorillas which live there.