Catalog
1 Rupie
| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Currency | Decimalized Rupee (1904-1916) |
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| Obverse description | Light-green note with an imperial eagle vignette at upper left and series letter 'B' as a control identifier. The note lacks the 'Gebucht von' inscription below the date at left, distinguishing this variety from related issues. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Der Gegenwert dieser Banknote ist bei dem Kaiserlichen Gouvernement von Deutsch Ostafrika voll hinterlegt. Kadri ya noti hii imewekwa sahihi 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 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE ZEITUNG G.M.B.H. DARESSALAM |
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| Comments |
By 1915, the naval blockade had severed German East Africa from virtually all outside supply. Governor Heinrich Schnee's administration could no longer import printed currency, so emergency notes were produced locally by the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung — a newspaper printing house in Dar es Salaam, not a security printer. The results show it: typographic design, thin commercial stock, and none of the intaglio work that would normally characterize colonial currency.
Lettow-Vorbeck's guerrilla campaign kept the colony fighting until two weeks after the Armistice in Europe, making these notes among the last circulating paper of any German colonial territory. Schnee himself signed the instruments of surrender on 25 November 1918.