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1 Rupie Emergency issue

Issuer Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank
Year 1916
Type Emergency banknote
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Obverse description Imperial German eagle vignette in the upper left corner within a plain box, serving as the sole pictorial element on an otherwise typeset note. The text body, set in letterpress, bears the issuing bank name and the denomination "Eine Rupie" in large bold type flanked by numeral "1" on each side. Below, the place of issue "Daressalam/Tabora", date "1. Februar 1916", and branch designation "Zweigniederlassung Daressalam" appear alongside two manuscript signature lines, this example carrying two handwritten signatures.
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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 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE ZEITUNG G.M.B.H. DARESSALAM
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Comments

Printed under siege conditions in 1916 as the British naval blockade cut off all supply lines from Germany, this note was produced by the colony's own newspaper printing house — the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung — because no purpose-built currency printer was available or accessible. The entire Lettow-Vorbeck campaign depended on improvised logistics of exactly this kind, and the currency was no different.

Paper quality varied considerably across the run, sourced locally as stocks permitted. Some examples were printed on salvaged or repurposed stock, which is why the substrate shows noticeable inconsistency within the series.

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