German East African rupee
| German East African rupee | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country: | German East Africa |
| Subdivision: | 64 Pesa (until 1904) 100 Heller (from 1904) |
| Abbreviation: | |
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Exchange rate : (1920) |
1 East African florin |
The German East African rupee was the currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916 and was still in circulation in Tanganyika until 1920.
history
The Indian rupee was the most common currency on the East African coast in the second half of the 19th century and had marginalized both the US gold dollar and the Maria Theresa thaler . The German-East African Society acquired the right to mint coins in 1890 and issued rupees corresponding to the Indian and Zanzibar rupees . The company retained its right to mint even after the German government later took over German East Africa. In 1904 the German government took over currency affairs in the colony and established the East African Bank .
At first, the German-East African rupee was equivalent to the Indian rupee in terms of value. By 1904 it was in 64 Pesa divided (according to the Indian pice or Paisa ) from February 1904, the currency was decimalized and 1 Rupie in 100 Heller divided. At the same time a fixed exchange rate of 15 rupees = 20 marks was introduced.
In 1915 and 1916 a large series of emergency money was issued. In 1916 there was another issue of coins, including a 15 rupee gold coin, which had a gold value of 15 marks. In 1916, German East Africa was occupied by British and Belgian troops. In Tanganyika, the German East African rupee circulated alongside the British East African rupee (to which it corresponded in terms of value) until 1920, when both were replaced by the East African florin in an exchange ratio of 1: 1. In Burundi and Rwanda , the Belgian-Congolese franc replaced the rupee in 1916.
Coins
1 pesa copper and 1 rupee silver coins were introduced in 1890 , followed by ¼ and ½ rupee silver coins the next year and 2 rupee silver coins in 1893. The silver coins were minted to the same standard as the Indian Rupee.
As a consequence of the introduction of the decimal system, ½ and 1 Heller coins were issued in 1904 , followed by 5 lighters made of bronze and 10 punched lighters made of copper-nickel in 1908. In 1913, punched 5-Heller coins made of copper-nickel were added and in 1916, together with the above mentioned golden 15 rupee coins, roughly minted 5 and 20 heller coins.
Banknotes
In 1905, the German-East African Bank introduced banknotes to the denominations of 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 rupees. Between 1915 and 1917, emergency money worth 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 200 rupees was issued.
See also
literature
- Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801-1991 (18th ed. Ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-150-1 .
- Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9 .