Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
20 Heller - Wilhelm II Tabora Emergency Coinage
| Issuer | German East Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | KM#15, Schön#15, Schön#16, Schön#17, Schön#18 |
| Obverse description | The German Imperial crown with flanking ribbon ends occupies the upper portion of the field, rendered in low relief in the characteristic crude style of this wartime emergency issue. Beneath the crown, the date 1916 appears in large bold numerals flanked on either side by small lozenge-shaped ornaments. Below the date, the abbreviated legend DOA (Deutsch-Ostafrika) is incused in capital letters, identifying the issuing colony. The overall design is simple and utilitarian, reflecting the improvised production conditions at the Tabora mint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ♦1916♦ DOA (Translation: German East Africa) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Struck in Tabora in 1916 as British and Belgian forces closed in on the last German-held interior positions of East Africa, this coin was produced from copper water pipe salvaged from local infrastructure — the colonial administration having no access to proper planchet stock. Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's guerrilla campaign had severed normal supply lines entirely, making improvised coinage a practical necessity rather than a symbolic gesture.
Four die varieties exist under the Schön listings, reflecting the ad hoc nature of production. Tabora fell to Belgian troops in September 1916, ending the mint's operation after just months of output.