Zanzibari rupee facts for kids

The Zanzibari rupee was the money used in Zanzibar for many years. It was used from 1908 until the end of 1935. One rupee was made up of 100 smaller units called cents.

The Story of the Zanzibari Rupee

Before the rupee, Zanzibar used a different type of money called the Zanzibari ryal. The rupee took its place in 1908. It was worth about two and an eighth rupees for every one ryal.

The Zanzibari rupee was just like the Indian rupee. The Indian rupee was also used in Zanzibar at the same time. The Zanzibari rupee stayed equal in value to the Indian rupee.

On January 1, 1936, the Zanzibari rupee was replaced. A new type of money called the East African shilling took its place. One Zanzibari rupee was worth one and a half East African shillings.

Coins of Zanzibar

In 1908, Zanzibar started making its own coins. They made bronze coins worth 1 cent and 10 cents. They also made nickel coins worth 20 cents. After 1908, no more new coins were made for Zanzibar.

Banknotes of Zanzibar

Also in 1908, the government of Zanzibar started printing paper money, called banknotes. These banknotes came in values of 5, 10, 20, and 100 rupees.

A few years later, in 1916, they added new banknotes. These were for 50 and 500 rupees. Then, in 1920, they even made 1-rupee notes. All of these Zanzibari banknotes were taken out of use in 1936. Today, these old banknotes are very rare and valuable to collectors.