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50 Marks
| Issuer | Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Kamerun |
|---|---|
| Year | 1914 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The face carries a central vignette of the German imperial eagle printed in red-orange, set against a plain ground below the denomination text 'Funfzig Mark' in large bold letterpress. The upper portion bears the treasury note designation 'Schatzschein Nr. D' with a handwritten serial number in blue, and the text 'Verordnung vom 12ten August 1914' flanked by ornamental flourishes. The note is framed by a decorative border of repeating skull-and-crossbones motifs at the corners and along the edges, with the numeral '50' repeated in each corner panel; two manuscript signatures appear at the foot above the issuing authority line 'Kais. Gouvernement von Kamerun'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in black letterpress on plain uncoloured paper and carries a two-paragraph legal extract headed 'Auszug aus der Verordnung des Gouverneurs von Kamerun über die Ausgabe von Schatzscheinen vom 12. August 1914.' Paragraph 3 declares the notes legal tender from the outbreak of war until twelve months after the conclusion of a final peace treaty, while Paragraph 5 sets out criminal penalties under the Reichsstrafgesetzbuch for counterfeiting or uttering forged notes. There are no vignettes, borders, or decorative elements on this side. |
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| Comments |
The Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Kamerun issued this note in August 1914, within weeks of the outbreak of war in Europe. Cut off from Germany by British and French naval blockades, the colonial administration in Duala faced an immediate liquidity crisis — metropolitan currency could not reach the colony, and trade had to continue. These emergency treasury notes were the improvised answer.
The entire series was short-lived. Anglo-French forces invaded Kamerun in August 1914 and completed the conquest by February 1916. Notes that weren't destroyed in the retreat were largely invalidated under the subsequent French and British partition. Survivors are scarce precisely because the issuing administration ceased to exist so quickly after printing.