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1 Rupie
| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Imperial eagle vignette at upper left, approximately 15 mm in height, set within a frame containing six stars. A series letter and number prefix appears at left alongside the notation 'Gebucht von'. The letter-number combination follows the G3–V3 series (excluding I3). |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#20a(1) - cream paper series G3 P#20a(10) - cream paper series P3 - "P" small and narrow (2,5 x 4,2 mm), without serifs P#20a(11) - cream paper series Q3 - "Q" fine and wide (4,5 x 6 mm) P#20a(12) - cream paper series Q3 - "Q" bold and narrow (3 x 5 mm) P#20a(13) - cream paper series Q3 - "Q" bold and wide (4,5 x 5,5 mm) P#20a(14) - cream paper series Q3 - "Q" bold and narrow (3,5 x 6 mm) P#20a(15) - cream paper series R3 P#20a(16) - cream paper series S3 P#20a(17) - cream paper series T3 P#20a(18) - cream paper series U3 P#20a(19) - cream paper series V3 P#20a(2) - cream paper series H3 P#20a(3) - cream paper series J3 P#20a(4) - cream paper series K3 P#20a(5) - cream paper series L3 P#20a(6) - cream paper series M3 P#20a(7) - cream paper series N3 P#20a(8) - cream paper series O3 P#20a(9) - cream paper series P3 - "P" large and wide (3,5 x 4,5 mm), with serifs P#20b(1) - square lined paper (as in school notebooks) series Q3 - "Q" fine and wide (4,5 x 6 mm) P#20b(2) - square lined paper (as in school notebooks) series Q3 - "Q" bold and narrow (3 x 5 mm) P#20b(3) - square lined paper (as in school notebooks) series Q3 - "Q" bold and wide (4,5 x 5,5 mm) P#20b(4) - square lined paper (as in school notebooks) series Q3 - "Q" bold and narrow (3,5 x 6 mm) P#20x - error: 3 instead of P3 ("P" barely visible) P#20y - error: without P#20z - error: word "Kaiserl ches" on back ("i" dropped) |
| Comments |
By 1916, the naval blockade had severed German East Africa from all outside supply — including printing materials. The colonial government under Governor Heinrich Schnee authorized emergency currency production using whatever paper and ink the local press could provide, which is why the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung's printing house in Dar es Salaam, a newspaper operation, found itself manufacturing legal tender. The results were predictably crude.
Paper quality varied substantially across the run, and many surviving examples show the brittleness expected from non-banknote stock exposed to tropical humidity. Schnee signed the notes personally, an unusual step reflecting how improvised the entire issue was.