German East Africa 1891 1/2 rupie
This specimen was lot 20522 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Philadelphia, August 2018), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMAN EAST AFRICA. 1/2 Rupie, 1891. NGC PROOF-65 CAMEO. Resplendent Gem quality, exhibiting deeply reflective mirror-like fields and undeniable cameo-producing frost over the central design motifs. A light trace of tone accents the peripheries. The finest graded by NGC." 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. This type was issued again in 1897.
Recorded mintage: 68,000 plus proofs.
Specification: 5.83 g, 0.917 fine silver.
Catalog reference: KM-4; J-712.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, Kyle Ponterio and Chris Chatigny, The August 2018 Philadelphia ANA Auction: World Coins and Selections from the El Dorado Collection of Colombian Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2018.
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