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500 Rupien
| Issuer | Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1912 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Rupees |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II in military uniform within an oval vignette at left, set against an intricate guilloche underprint with ornamental corner rosettes and denominational numerals '500' at each corner. The issuer's name 'DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE BANK' appears in bold letterpress at upper centre-right, with the written denomination 'FÜNF HUNDERT RUPIEN' in large gothic script below, alongside the date 'Daressalam, den 2. September 1912' and a manuscript signature at lower right. Serial numbers in red appear at upper centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE BANK 500 RUPIEN 500 FÜNF HUNDERT RUPIEN |
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| Comments |
The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank's 500 Rupien note of 1912 is among the highest denominations issued for German East Africa and was never intended for ordinary commerce — at that value, it functioned primarily as a settlement instrument between merchants and trading houses in Dar es Salaam and Tanga. Giesecke & Devrient in Leipzig produced the series to a high engraved standard, as they did for most German colonial currency of the period.
When war broke out in 1914, the colonial administration under Schnee and Lettow-Vorbeck was cut off from Germany entirely. Emergency currency followed, but these pre-war Rupien notes remained nominally valid and circulated well beyond their intended role.