German East Africa 1890 rupie
This specimen was lot 33815 in Heritage sale 3076 (Long Beach, CA, September 2019), where it sold for $780. The catalog description[1] noted, "German East Africa: German Colony. Wilhelm II Rupie 1890 MS66 PCGS. Tied for the finest business strike of the date seen by PCGS, and a truly astounding piece on the whole, a radiant palette of russet iridescence overlaying glassy surfaces." This type was struck 1890-1902 for German East Africa to the standard of an Indian rupee. It is fairly expensive in high grade but not so scarce as the half rupie. This, the first year of issue, was extensively saved and is the most common date. After a prolonged struggle, the British managed to conquer the region during World War One and it was partitioned between them and the Belgians by the Treaty of Versailles. The Belgian portion is now Burundi and Rwanda and the British part merged with Zanzibar to form Tanzania.
Recorded mintage: 154,000.
Specification: 11.66 g, 0.917 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM 2, J-713.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3076, featuring the Allen Moretti Swiss Collection and the James Mossman Collection of Canadian Coinage, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
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