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1 Rupie
| Issuer | Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain buff ground enclosed by a simple ruled rectangular border. The serial number is printed twice in bold type, at top and bottom of the field. Series letter 'H' appears at left and right centre. Two bilingual text blocks occupy the central area: a German declaration that the note's equivalent value is fully deposited with the Imperial Government of German East Africa, followed by a Swahili rendering of the same guarantee. A German anti-counterfeiting warning in letterpress occupies the lower portion. |
| Reverse lettering | Der Gegenwert dieser Banknote ist bei dem Kaiserlichen Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika voll hinterlegt. Kadri ya noti hii imewekwa sahihi katika Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika. H H 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 |
The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank issued this 1 Rupie note under wartime siege conditions. When Allied naval blockades cut off the German East Africa colony from its metropolitan banking infrastructure, the local administration was forced to improvise a paper currency using whatever materials were available — including, famously, animal hide for some issues. The P#13 paper Rupie notes of 1915 were part of that same emergency framework, produced locally rather than imported from a European printer.
Surviving examples frequently show uneven paper stock and irregular printing registration, artifacts of colonial field production rather than damage sustained in circulation.