Catalog
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| Issuer | Obock Territory (1862-1896) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1892-1914 |
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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 |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin, Arabic |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Obock was a French protectorate on the Gulf of Aden, acquired in 1862 but largely neglected until the 1880s when competition with British Somaliland made a functioning local currency politically necessary. Rather than striking original coinage, French colonial authorities counterstamped circulating British Indian rupees — already the dominant trade coin across the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula — with a small punch authorizing their use in Obock's territory. It was a cheap administrative solution to a real monetary problem.
The territory itself was effectively superseded by Djibouti after 1896, which explains the long striking window stretching well past Obock's administrative dissolution.