The world probably owes its currency origins to Maria Theresa Thaler.
East Africa was not exempt . Maria
Theresa was the queen of Hungary and Bohemia who ruled from the age of
23 yrs in the years from
1740 to1780. She introduced the silver bullion coin to be used for trade
in her
country. The coin’s use spread far and wide, the British, Italians,
Belgium’s
used it to trade and sustain war in countries they wanted to conquer. It
was used in the Kenyan and Eritrean coasts and despite its
popularity its use did not penetrate inwards.
The German East Africa Company
acquired the right to mint coinage in 1890 and issued Rupees which were
equivalent to the Indian and Zanzibar Rupee. The Company retained its
coinage
rights even after the takeover of German East Africa by the government
later in
1890. In 1904 the German government took over currency matters and
established
the Ostafrikanische Bank.
During the First World War, gold from the Sekenke Gold Mine was used to
mint
coins to pay German troops fighting against the allied forces in the
Belgian
Congo. Senkenke was the largest gold mine in Tangayika modern day
Tanzania. The
coins are highly sought after and valued by collectors due to their gold
content.They were limited in number making it hard if not impossible collectors to find. Many value collectors are duped by purchasing old coins of low metallic value.
HELLER
Heller is a common name in East Africa referring to coins of small value
but little is known of its origins.The Heller or Häller was originally a
German coin valued at
half a pfennig and named after the city of Hall am Kocher (today
Schwäbisch Hall).
The coin was produced from the beginning of the 13th century based on a
previously produced silver pfennig (Häller Pfennig, sometimes called Händelheller
for its depiction of a hand on the front face), but was deteriorated by
mixing
in copper little by little so that it was no longer considered to be a
silver
coin. The term Heller came into wide use as a name for coins of small
value
throughout many of the German states up to 1873 when, after German
unification,
Mark and pfennig were introduced as nationwide coinage.
PICE
In 1897 the leader of the British East Africa Protectorate
(B.E.A.P) introduced a new currency called the ‘pice’ or ‘specie’. It
was not successful
and hence the rupee was made the official currency in 1905.
INDIAN RUPEE
The Indian rupee was used to pay Indian workers during
building of the railway from 1896, it managed to penetrate inwards as
the
railway construction progressed. The rupee was readily accepted and its
name
was corrupted and called by different names such as rupiah or pesa.
Kenya
attained a colony status in 1920 when the Imperial British East Africa’s
mandate was abolished, the use of the Indian rupee was also abolished at
this time.
The East African Currency Board was established, it was a
central body formed to oversee the issuance of currency in the region.
EAST AFRICAN
RUPEES
The Indian Rupee was quickly replaced with
the East African Rupee. The E A Rupee
was the currency of Britain's East African colonies and protectorates
between
1906 and 1920. It was divided into 100 cents. In 1920, the Rupee was
revalued
against Sterling to a peg of 1 Rupee = 2 Shillings (1 Florin). The
currency is
noteworthy for including the world's first aluminium coin, the 1907 1
cent. It
was however was short lived as the East African Florins were instead
introduced.
FLORIN
The Florin was the currency of the British colonies
and protectorates of East Africa
between 1920 and 1921. It was divided into 100 cents. It replaced the
East
African Rupee and was replaced by the Shilling at a rate of 2 shillings =
1
florin. The florin was equivalent to 2 shilling sterling. Because of its
short
period in existence, few of the coins minted were actually issued and
are
consequently scarce today. Coins were minted in denominations of 1, 5,
10, 25
and 50 cents and 1 florin but, the 50 cents coins were not released for
circulation and only 30% of the 1, 5 and 10 cents coins produced were
issued
for circulation. On January 1, 1922 the shilling equivalent was
introduced in
all the three East African countries and by June 1923, the E.A. Shilling
was
firmly established as official currency in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika.
CURRENCY AFTER INDEPENDENCE
In 1964 after the independence of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, there was a desire to establish a common East African Central Bank. Interim currencies were therefore introduced by the EACB to circulate within the region. For banknotes, the interim currency was commonly known as the Lake Victoria Money because of the background of Lake Victoria on the notes. The Lake Victoria designed notes were in the denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 100 shillings. There were also a number of coins minted and referred to as the “Uhuru” coins since they too had no head or monarch on them. Individual countries in East Africa were to follow with their own currencies with Kenya in 1966 under the central bank.
CURRENCY AFTER INDEPENDENCE
In 1964 after the independence of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, there was a desire to establish a common East African Central Bank. Interim currencies were therefore introduced by the EACB to circulate within the region. For banknotes, the interim currency was commonly known as the Lake Victoria Money because of the background of Lake Victoria on the notes. The Lake Victoria designed notes were in the denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 100 shillings. There were also a number of coins minted and referred to as the “Uhuru” coins since they too had no head or monarch on them. Individual countries in East Africa were to follow with their own currencies with Kenya in 1966 under the central bank.
