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1 Rupie
| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Imperial German eagle vignette at upper left, with the notation 'gez.: A. Frühling' present but no actual signature at right. The note bears the denomination and issuing authority text in a plain letterpress layout characteristic of wartime emergency issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Variants | P#11a - thick and stiff cream paper series E P#11b(1) - thin cream paper series E P#11b(2) - thin cream paper series F both series letters on back at same height P#11b(3) - thin cream paper series F series letters on back at left top and right bottom Remark: almost all of these notes were stamped with a large "Z"; not overprinted notes are extremely rare P#11b(4) - thin cream paper series G series letters on back at left top and right bottom |
| 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.