S & T From Africa to India

[Figleaf]

The scales will look familiar if you know the coins of Bombay. However, this is an African coin. As the French were trying to connect west and East Africa and the British were trying to connect North and South Africa, the Germans were trying to catch up building a colonial empire. They all met South of the horn. The territory was taken. Arabs had colonized it long before. This coin is from the British zone of influence. It makes it abundantly clear that people were used to see coins of Bombay in circulation. Although the mintmark is not very clear, I believe it is CM for Calcutta.

This was not the first coin of Mombasa. Arabs had left their numismatic traces long ago. The second coin is the British Museum's copy of a 14th century coin minted at Tilwa, now in Tanzania.

Peter

[Figleaf]

Here is the equivalent from the German zone of influence. Same material, same diameter, same weight, same denomination. The coin was not issued by the German government, but by the Deutsch-Ost-Afrikanischen Gesellschaft. I think the locals probably couldn't have cared less whether the coin they received was Arab, Indian, German, DOAG or British. The map shows German East Africa around 1892. The British are to the North.

Peter

[Afrasi]

The second coin is the British Museum's copy of a 14th century coin minted at Tilwa, now in Tanzania.

It is from Kilwa (not Tilwa) in Tanzania.

Afrasi

[Aernout]

Nice map of Deutsch-Ost-Afrika !

Here is my coin of Deutsch-Ost-Afrika as example for this thread.

Minted in Berlin, 1/4 rupie 1909A = 300.000 ex.

mvg,
Aernout

[Figleaf]

The halves are difficult to get and the two rupee coin is the key of the series (I wonder if it is the only two rupee coin.) The story of the African territories of the Arabian clans is often forgotten, but there are numismatic memories of them all over the East coast. Deutsch Ost Africa is likewise often forgotten (and the British have excellent reasons to forget their bumbling military performance there). Only the coins with the bumbling emperor remain.

BTW, you are right to mention the mintage. The mintages are really low. Fortunately, demand is also still low, so these coins remain a bargain.

Peter