Catalog
1 Rupie
| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Imperial eagle vignette at upper left, with bilingual text in German and Swahili. The note lacks the 'Gebucht von' inscription below the date at left. Series letters H and J appear on the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Der Gegenwert dieser Banknote ist bei dem Kaiserlichen Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika voll hinterlegt. Kadri ya noti hii imewoewa s hifadhi katika Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika. Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter 2 Jahren bestraft. |
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| Comments |
Deutsch-Ostafrika's 1915 emergency issues were printed locally in Daressalam because the British naval blockade had severed all contact with Germany. Without access to purpose-made security paper, the colonial government used whatever materials were available — early runs of this series are known to have been printed on paper that included interleaved fabric and, in some documented cases, repurposed packing material. The improvised nature of the production is not a defect; it is the point.
P#14 belongs to a group of notes produced under Governor Heinrich Schnee as the colony's isolation deepened. Lettow-Vorbeck's guerrilla campaign kept German East Africa in the field longer than any other colonial territory, and these notes circulated — and were trusted — well past the point when the issuing authority had any realistic hope of redemption.