1 Rupee - George V

The East African Currency Board was established in 1919 specifically to create a unified currency across British East Africa, replacing the Indian rupee that had circulated in the region for decades. This 1920 note is among the earliest issues under that mandate — the board had barely found its administrative footing when these were printed.

De La Rue's involvement here is unsurprising; they held the dominant position in colonial currency printing throughout this period. What is worth noting is how short-lived the rupee denomination proved: the board switched to a florin-based system in 1921, then moved to the shilling standard in 1922, making the entire rupee series effectively obsolete within two years of issue.