Catalog
| Issuer | Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft (German East Africa Company) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908-1914 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Decimalized Rupee (1904-1916) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 10 HELLER A |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The German East Africa Company had largely ceded administrative control of the territory to the Imperial German government by 1891, making these later Heller issues something of an anachronism — struck in the company's name long after the company itself had meaningful authority. Berlin contracted the coins out to the Hamburg mint, which produced all denominations in the series through the outbreak of war in 1914.
When British and South African forces moved into German East Africa, circulating coinage became scarce enough that the colonial garrison under von Lettow-Vorbeck famously authorized emergency brass and gold Tabora issues in 1916. These copper-nickel pieces predate that crisis by nearly a decade.