German East Africa 1893 rupie
This specimen was lot 7002 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $2,400. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMAN EAST AFRICA. Rupie, 1893. Berlin Mint. Wilhelm II. PCGS MS-62. Enchanting with splendor, this German Imperial specimen has surfaces that refract lighting into a dizzying array of cartwheel luster. Beautiful cherry tone strengthens as the rims of this beauty are reached." This type was struck 1890-1902 for German East Africa to the standard of an Indian rupee. 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: 142,000.
Specification: 11.66 g, 0.917 fine silver, .343 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM-2; J-713.
- Jaeger, Kurt, Die Deutschen Münzen seit 1871, Basel: Münzen und Medaillen AG, 1982.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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