1 rupee 1916
“serie V2”
About This Note
This is a German East African 1 Rupee banknote from February 1, 1916, issued by the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank during the final years of German colonial rule in East Africa. The note displays characteristic period features including an ornate geometric border, a German imperial eagle coat of arms, and a mountainous landscape vignette, with text in both German and Swahili reflecting the colonial administration. In AU condition, this example shows honest age-related wear with foxing and creasing consistent with circulation during wartime, along with distinctive purple handwritten signatures and notations, making it a historically significant artifact of this brief interim currency period.
Common. This is a standard interim issue from the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank with serial number prefix U2, suggesting it was part of a substantial print run for the 1916 emergency currency series. While German East African currency is historically significant, Pick P-19 notes from this series circulated widely during the colonial period and survive in reasonable quantities. The AU condition grade indicates above-average preservation, but the denomination (1 Rupee), issuer, and date do not qualify this as scarce or rare based on documented numismatic records.
This interim banknote was issued during World War I when German East Africa faced severe liquidity challenges and was economically isolated. The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank, established to manage colonial finances, issued these emergency currency notes backed by the Imperial German Government guarantee printed on the reverse. The bilingual German-Swahili text reflects the colonial administrative structure, while the mountainous landscape vignette represents the East African territory itself, all issued from the major colonial centers of Dar es Salaam and Tabora during the final years before the territory's capture by British and Allied forces.
The front features an ornate Art Nouveau-influenced geometric border frame in brown and black. The left side displays the German imperial coat of arms, specifically the Reichsadler (Imperial Eagle) with shield, a symbol of colonial authority. The center prominently features the denomination 'Eine Rupie' with the issuing bank name. A substantial landscape vignette occupies the upper-center portion, depicting mountainous East African terrain, serving as the primary decorative and identifying element of the note. The right side contains formal text describing the bank's obligation. Handwritten signatures appear at the bottom from authorized officials ('Gebucht von' and 'In Vollmacht'). The reverse contains legal text and counterfeiting penalties, with a rectangular stamp incorporating 'Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung' and 'Daressalam' location identifier. The serial number U2 91453 appears on both sides. Bilingual German-Swahili text throughout reflects the colonial dual-language administration.
FRONT SIDE: 'Interims-Banknote' (Interim Banknote) | 'Die Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Bank' (The German East African Bank) | 'zählt bei ihren Kassen im D.O.A. Schutzgebiet dem Einlieferer dieser Banknote ohne Legitimationsprüfung' (pays at its cashiers in the D.O.A. protectorate to the presenter of this banknote without legitimacy verification) | 'Eine Rupie' (One Rupee) | 'Daressalam/Tabora' (locations) | '1. Februar 1916' (1st February 1916) | 'Zweigniederlassung Däressalam' (Branch office Dar es Salaam) | 'Gebucht von:' (Issued by:) | 'In Vollmacht:' (By authority:) | BACK SIDE: 'Der Gegenwert dieser Banknote ist bei dem Kaiserlichen Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika vollständig hinterlegt.' (The value of this banknote is fully deposited with the Imperial Government of German East Africa.) | Swahili parallel: 'Kadri ya noti hii imewekwa salihi katika Kaiserliches Gouvernement von Deutsch-Ostafrika' (The value of this note has been approved at the Imperial Government of German East Africa) | 'Wer Banknoten nachmacht oder verfälscht oder nachgemachte oder verfälschte sich verschafft und in Verkehr bringt, wird mit Zuchthaus nicht unter 5 Jahren bestraft' (Whoever counterfeits or falsifies banknotes or procures counterfeit or falsified ones and puts them into circulation shall be punished with imprisonment of no less than 5 years) | 'DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKANISCHE ZEITUNG DARESSALAM' (German East African Newspaper Dar es Salaam) | Serial: 'U2 91453'
This note was produced using letterpress (typography) printing, characteristic of 1916 German banknote production. The crisp, defined geometric borders, clear text rendering, and the quality of the landscape vignette are consistent with high-quality letterpress techniques employed by German security printers of the period. The handwritten signatures were added post-printing by authorized officials. The uniform brown/sepia coloring suggests single-color printing typical of emergency wartime currency production, with no sophisticated multi-color security measures employed.
This specimen represents variety U2 (serial prefix U2 91453), one of the documented series designations for the 1916 1 Rupee issue. The purple handwritten signatures and notations are individual authorizations rather than catalog varieties. The note's 'serie V2' designation from collector notes may refer to specific organizational or acquisition cataloging by the previous owner rather than an official variety designation. Pick P-19 has documented series variations in serial number prefixes (A through V ranges identified on different printing batches); this U2 prefix example represents one of the middle-range series in the production sequence.
