Coins Germanskiz colonies

For quite a long time, politicians and the public of the German Empire watched from the outside the colonial expansion of the African continent by European states. The government initially believed that it was worth paying more attention to strengthening the Empire's position in Europe than to seizing new lands. By the end of the 19th century, industrialists were the first to fail, who, along with their neighbors in Europe, wanted to participate in the process of pumping out African resources, and also needed new markets for their products. Under their influence, Chancellor Bismarck in 1884 officially formulated the colonial policy of the German Empire, which emphasized the development of new territories by private companies. The German government granted the right to develop the African east to the Gesellschaft für deutsche Kolonisation, which arrived in Zanzibar in 1884.
 

In the XIX century, the Indian rupee dominated in East Africa, unlike other African territories, in which the thaler of Maria Theresa and the US dollar were widely used in calculations. The exchange rate was 1 thaler = 2 rupees = 1 dollar. The German East African Company (Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft), which was the successor to the German Colonization Society, received a license to issue coins for East Africa.

 

Note that the reverse of the 1 pesu coin bears the coat of arms of the German Empire, while the reverse of the remaining denominations bears the coat of arms of the German East African Company.

 

For six years, the German East African Company was only engaged in trying to settle territorial claims with the local population. Since they failed to resolve the conflict with the tribes on their own, under the pretext of fighting the Arab slave trade, the government of the German Empire took the initiative. In 1890, Great Britain and Germany determined the spheres of influence on the east coast of Africa, and in 1891 the German Empire officially "joined the club" of the colonial powers of the continent. Despite the fact that the government of the German Empire founded the East African Bank, the German East African Company retained the right to issue coins for the colony.

 

On February 28, 1904, a monetary reform was carried out with the denominations of exchange coins reduced to the decimal system (1 rupee = 100 hellers), and the legend on the coins changed to "Deutsch Ostafrika." The line of coins of the second issue included coins in denominations of ½ and 1 heller, ¼, ½ and 1 rupee. Coins were issued by mints in Berlin (A) and Hamburg (J). The new currency was pegged to a deutschmark with an exchange rate of 15 rupees = 20 deutschmarks. From May 21, 1904, a ban was imposed on the circulation of the Indian rupee, although unofficially it continued to be used for some time.

 

In 1908, bronze 5 hellers, similar in design to ½ and 1 heller, as well as copper-nickel 10 hellers with a hole in the middle, were added to the already issued coins.
 

A lot of bronze was spent on the manufacture of 5 hellers, so in 1913 and 1914 5 hellers were released on copper-nickel blanks in the design of 10 hellers.
 

In 1916, due to the need for bargaining chips, the colony, cut off by a military blockade from the German Empire, organized in the Tanzanian city of Tabora the release of "emergency" coins in denominations of 5 and 20 hellers (mint mark "T"). The coins were of poor quality, as the stamps were cut "in haste," and the bottom of the spent cartridges was used as blanks for minting coins. On some coins, you can even see traces of capsule holes and a calibration rim. Coins in denominations of 5 hellers were issued on brass blanks, and coins in denominations of 20 hellers were issued on brass and copper.

For 20 Hellers, there are two options for obverse stamps, which differ in crown size and font, as well as three reverse options, the main difference of which is in the form of the letters L in the word HELLER.

After the defeat of Germany in World War I, the lands of its African colony were divided between Belgium and Great Britain. For some time, the East German rupee still continued to circulate along with the rupee of British East Africa (in Tanganyika) and the franc of the Belgian Congo (in Rwanda-Urundi).

 

German East Africa was not the only colony of the German Empire in Africa at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The colonies of German Togoland, German Cameroon and German South-West Africa did not issue their coins, but used the money of the metropolis and neighboring states in the calculations.

 

In 1884, the expedition of Friedrich Finsch, an agent of the German New Guinea Company, hoisted the German flag over the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and the island of New Britain, soon proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm Land and the Bismarck Archipelago. In subsequent years, the German Empire expanded its colonial possessions, annexing the Marshall Islands, the island of Nauru, the Mariana and Caroline Islands to German New Guinea.

 

In the first years of the colony's formation, the money of the German Empire was legal tender: stamps and pfennigs. In 1894, the metropolitan government authorized the issuance of its own coins for the colony. The New Guinean brand was equated with the brand of the German Empire. The colonial issue included copper 1, 2 and 10 pfennigs, silver ½, 1, 2 and 5 brands. The circulation of issued coins is negligible - from 13 to 33 thousand copies.

 

 

The issue of 1894 was the only one in the history of this German colony. In 1899, the colonial authorities decided to stop issuing coins, and on April 15, 1911, colonial money lost its solvency.

 

The history of the colony ended in 1914, when, in connection with the outbreak of World War I, these territories were first occupied by Australia and then  Japan.

In conclusion, a coin of another German colony - Jiao-Zhou (Kiao Chao).

 

In 1889, a number of German banks under the auspices of the government of the German Empire organized Dehua Bank, which soon opened its branches in Shanghai, Berlin, Calcutta, Tianjin, Hankou, Qingdao and Jinan. In 1897 , Germany received a 99-year lease of the land of the Asian colony of Jiao-Zhou. Until 1909, Chinese Liang, Mexican pesos and American dollars went to the colony. The Shanghai office of Dehua Bank in October 1909 allowed the issue of coins of two denominations: 5 and 10 cents. The engraver of the obverse was Paul Sturm, the reverse was Otto Schulz. The coins were issued by the Berlin Mint. After the release of these coins, the circulation of coins of other states was stopped.