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5 Heller - Wilhelm II
| Issuer | German East Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1913-1914 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 5 Heller (0.05) |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a central round hole through which the denomination numeral '5' appears above and the word 'HELLER' below, with the value thus split vertically by the perforation. Two symmetrical olive branches frame the design on the left and right sides of the field, their stems meeting at the base. The mint mark 'A' appears to the right of the lower inscription, denoting the Berlin Mint. The composition is clean and balanced, characteristic of the holed coinage format used for German colonial issues. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
German East Africa maintained its own coinage through the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft and later the imperial colonial administration, but by 1913 the territory was already facing the monetary disruptions that would accelerate dramatically after August 1914. When war broke out, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's isolated force couldn't import coin from Germany, leading to the famous 1916 Tabora emergency gold and the brass Heller issues struck from melted-down cartridge casings — making this 1913–14 copper-nickel issue one of the last conventionally produced coins the colony would ever see.