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50 Rupees
| Issuer | Zanzibar Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908-1916 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT ٥٠ ૫૦ PROMISES TO PAY THE BEARER ON DEMAND THE SUM OF FIFTY RUPEES خمسون روبية પચાસ રૂપિયા ZANZIBAR FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ZANZIBAR (Translation: 50 50 Fifty rupees fifty rupees) |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Government of Zanzibar issued currency directly rather than through a bank — an unusual arrangement that persisted through the early British protectorate period. These notes circulated alongside Indian rupee coinage in a economy dominated by clove exports and Indian merchant credit networks, meaning the rupee denomination was a natural unit rather than an imposed one.
Waterlow & Sons produced the plates in London, but the two manuscript signatures — Sinclair as Chief Secretary and Cobble Davis as Treasurer — were applied individually to each note. At the 50 Rupee level, issue quantities were small, and hand-signed high-denomination notes from a minor protectorate across a nine-year window are rarely encountered today.