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| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Imperial eagle vignette at upper left, with a printed signature at right. The text 'Kraft besonderer Ermächtigung' appears below the date at left. Serial letter prefix 'L' is present, identifying this as an emergency wartime issue of the Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | Der Gegenwert dieser Banknote ist bei dem Kaiserlichen Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika voll hinterlegt. Kadri ya noti hii imewekwa sahibi katika Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika. Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter 2 Jahren bestraft. |
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| Comments |
Deutsch-Ostafrika's 1915 emergency currency is among the more unusual products of World War I monetary improvisation. With the British naval blockade severing supply lines from Germany, Governor Heinrich Schnee's administration printed these notes locally in Dar es Salaam using whatever materials were at hand — including, in some series, paper derived from salvaged stock. The colony was effectively cut off, and its currency had to function in complete isolation from any metropolitan backing.
P#17 falls within the Rukwa series of wartime Gouvernementspapiergeld. Forgeries were produced during the period, and authentication of surviving examples requires scrutiny of the typeface and paper texture.