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5 Rupien
| Issuer | Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Unadorned typeset reverse divided into three text blocks within a plain rectangular border. The upper and lower margins each carry a serial number in bold type. The first text block states in German that the value of the note is fully deposited with the Imperial Government of German East Africa; below it, the same statement is repeated in Swahili. A third block below contains the standard anti-counterfeiting warning in German threatening a minimum sentence of two years' imprisonment for forgery or circulation of forged notes. |
| Reverse lettering | Der Gegenwert dieser Banknote ist bei dem Kaiserlichen Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika voll hinterlegt. Kadri ya noti hii imewkwa sahihi 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 |
The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank's 1915 emergency issues are among the more remarkable products of the First World War's colonial theater. When the British naval blockade cut off German East Africa from its metropolitan supply lines, the territory's German administration — under the resourceful General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck — was forced to improvise an entire wartime economy. Currency was part of that improvisation.
Paper supplies were critically short, and some notes in this series were printed on salvaged or locally sourced stock, giving surviving examples noticeably inconsistent paper quality. The colony held out until after the Armistice — the last German force to surrender — which means these notes circulated for the full duration of the war.