German East Africa 1897 rupie
This specimen was lot 41226 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $660. The catalog description[1] noted, "GERMAN EAST AFRICA. Rupie, 1897. Berlin Mint. Wilhelm II. PCGS MS-64. Pop 1; 1 finer." 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: 244,000, a somewhat better date.
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 January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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