German East Africa Coins
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September 6, 2008
The only German colonies that coins were produced for were German New Guinea (8 different Coins ) , German Kiautschou (2 different coins ) and German East Africa (13 different coins) .The coins produced for German East Africa were by far the most numerous and were produced consistently over many more years .
At first the coins were made for the German East Africa Company from 1890 to 1902 and from 1904 to 1914 for the German Imperial Government
Coins of the former German Colony ,German East Africa are very collectable and becoming more difficult to find .These coins were minted only over a relatively short period from 1890 to 1916 .Coins were minted in Germany from 1890 to 1914 in Berlin (those marked "A") and Hamburg (those marked "J") and also very makeshift in field circumstances in Railway workshops in Tabora East Africa (marked "T") in 1916 only during wartime conditions .
The artists associated with the design in Germany were Emil Weigand 1836-1906,Otto Schulz 1848-1911,both in Berlin ("A") and Karl Kuhl in Hamburg ("J")
The coins that were minted in Germany were :
2 Rupies ( Silver) (diameter 35mm) (circulation 50,854)
1 Rupie ( Silver) (dia.30,5mm) ( circulation 11,737,
1/2 Rupie (Silver ) (dia.24,4mm) (circulation 1,898,342 )
1/4 Rupie (Silver) (dia.19,2mm) (circulation 3,226,688 )
1 Pesa (Copper) (dia.25,2mm) (circulation 41,092,335 )
10 Heller (Copper-Nickel) (dia. 26mm) (circulation 2,700,526)
5 Heller (Copper) (dia.37mm) (circulation 1,356,106)
5 Heller (Copper-Nickel) (dia.21mm) (circulation 2,000,000)
1 Heller (Copper ) (dia.20mm) (circulation 84,445,027)
1/2 Heller ( Copper) (dia.17,5mm) (circulation 18,393,268)
The coins struck at Tabora were:
15 Rupies (Gold ) ( dia. 22,5mm) (circulation 16,198)
20 Heller (Copper or Brass)(dia. 29mm) (circulation 1,633,700)
5 Heller (Brass) (dia.23mm) (circulation 300,000)
The most highly prized coin is the so called Tabora Sovereign or 15 Rupie struck in 7,1 grams of Gold (about 80% fine gold and 20% silver) with a diameter of 22,5 mm in the Tabora Railway Workshops in 1916. The gold was obtained from the historical Kironda (also Kirondatal) Gold Mine(mined by the Arabs in pre colonial times) in East Africa (now Tanzania) on the Iramba Plains adjacent to the Rift Valley in the North Central Region of Sekenke (were much gold ,found in quartz veins, is still mined today ) .The artistic design was done by R.Vogt whilst the die was made by a Senagalese Goldsmith in Zansibar.This was all done under the supervision of the Mining Engineer of the mine ,Friedrich Schumacher, at the behest of Governor Dr.Heinrich Schnee Two variations in striking exist which point to two dies being used .The variation is very subtle with a very slight difference on the reverse,being the side with the eagle ,where on the one strike the arabesque swirl ends below the "T" of the word "OST" whilst on the other strike it is shorter and ends below the "T" of the word "OST". Only some 16,200 were struck in total.
The 20 Heller and 5 Heller also produced in Tabora were made in a rougher fashion and two different dies existed ,one with a larger crown and one with a smaller crown. Often these coins have signs of deteriorating and cracked dies .Two metals ,brass and copper ,were used and thicknesses also varied due to metal sheets being of a different thickness.
Production of the Tabora coins ceased in August 1916 when the Belgians troops from the Belgian Congo marched into Tabora and occupied it .The last production of 200 gold coins were buried before the Belgians got there ( and have never been found) whilst the remaining gold reserves in the form of bars were sold to an Arabian merchant with British citizenship.Many German Troops buried their gold coins in East Africa hoping to come back after the war to retrieve their buried treasure ,but few ever made it back.
During the first World War makeshift paper money was also locally printed in German East Africa .
It is interesting to note that the German Forces under the leadership of the famous General Major Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck were never beaten by the British and their allies who chased them all over East Africa until 1918. The undefeated German Forces eventually surrendered on 23 November ,after the armstice had been signed which Von Lettow-Vorbeck had no knowlege of, in Mbala (then Abercorn) in the present day Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia)