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5 Heller - Wilhelm II Tabora Emergency Coinage
| Issuer | German East Africa |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays the bold numeral '5' above the denomination legend HELLER in large capital letters, all enclosed within a wreath of oak branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The mint mark 'T', denoting the Tabora mint, appears at the lower center beneath the wreath tie. The overall composition is simple and functional, consistent with the emergency circumstances under which this coinage was produced during the East African campaign of World War I. No peripheral legend surrounds the design, and the field is plain. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
When British naval blockades cut off German East Africa from resupply in 1916, the isolated colonial garrison under General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck faced a shortage of everything — including small change. The Tabora mint struck these brass pieces from whatever metal was available, producing some of the most improvised emergency coinage of the entire war. Lettow-Vorbeck's forces remained undefeated in the field until eleven days after the Armistice was signed in Europe.
Tabora itself fell to Belgian-Congolese forces in September 1916, making this a genuinely short-lived issue.