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500 Rupees
| Issuer | Zanzibar Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1908-1935) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT ٥٠٠ પાંચસો Promises to pay the Bearer on Demand the Sum of FIVE HUNDRED RUPEES خمسمائة روبية પાંચસો રૂપિયા ZANZIBAR, 1ST SEPTEMBER, 1920. For the GOVERNMENT OF ZANZIBAR. |
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| Signature(s) | J.Y. Sinclair (Chief Secretary) and Ian Corbett Davis (Treasurer) |
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| Comments |
The Government of Zanzibar issued notes directly rather than through a chartered bank — an arrangement that persisted through the protectorate period and reflected the territory's unusual administrative status under British oversight. The 500 Rupee denomination was the highest in the series and would have moved almost exclusively between merchants and government accounts, not through ordinary retail channels. Zanzibar's rupee was tied to the Indian rupee until 1936, when the East African shilling replaced it across the region.
Waterlow & Sons printed the series in London. Pick 7 is scarce at any grade — high-denomination notes from small colonial issuers rarely survived in quantity once they were superseded.