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1 Rupie
| Issuer | Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#15 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is enclosed within a repeating dash-and-dot guilloche border, with the Imperial German eagle coat of arms vignette set in a rectangular frame at the upper left. The issuer name 'Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank' is rendered in large bold letterpress text at centre, above the denomination numeral '1' flanking the words 'Eine Rupie'. The lower portion carries the place and date of issue, two manuscript signatures, and the printed signatory reference 'gez. A. Frühling'. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in letterpress, enclosed by a simple outer border consistent with the obverse frame. Text blocks in German carry administrative and redemption conditions, with a serial number and a single letter control character appearing in both the upper left and lower right corners. |
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| Comments |
Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank's 1915 emergency currency was born from a naval blockade. With supply lines to Germany severed after August 1914, the colonial administration in German East Africa could no longer import printed notes from Europe. The 1 Rupie notes that followed were produced locally under improvised conditions — a fact visible in the crude typography and inconsistent ink coverage that specialists use to distinguish genuine wartime issues from later imitations.
Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck's campaign to tie down Allied forces across East Africa until the armistice meant these notes circulated far longer than any colonial emergency currency had business doing — some remained nominally in use into 1918.