Catalog
1 Rupie
| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Rupee |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain text layout within a single-rule rectangular border. The serial number appears twice — at the top and bottom of the note. Three blocks of text are arranged vertically: a guarantee clause in German stating that the note's value is fully deposited with the Imperial Government of German East Africa, a parallel guarantee clause in Swahili, and an anti-counterfeiting warning in German threatening penal servitude of not less than two years. A printer's stamp reading 'DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE ZEITUNG G.M.B.H. DARESSALAM' is impressed in the lower left corner. The letter 'F' appears on both left and right margins as a series designator. |
| 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 British naval blockade had completely severed German East Africa from Europe, forcing the colonial government to improvise its own currency from whatever materials were available locally. The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung G.m.b.H. — a newspaper printer, not a security press — was pressed into service in Dar es Salaam, producing notes on whatever paper could be sourced in a surrounded colony at war.
The result is technically crude by any metropolitan standard, which is precisely what makes the series historically striking. Forgery resistance was minimal; the authorities had neither the equipment nor the time for sophisticated intaglio work. Governor Schnee's administration signed off on a design that was, above all, fast to produce.
Surviving examples frequently show uneven ink distribution and rough perforations — artifacts of newspaper press production, not deterioration.