Colonial Coins

Coin selling is an extremely broad and complex business process that requires an organised and informed approach.

It has many sub-topics that cover various aspects of the engagement, all aimed at achieving a successful trading experience.

The best part is that we are here for you, to nurture your passion into a lucrative income-generating venture.

The starting point is to have in-depth knowledge of coins and the world of coins. So let’s get into it.

A Sample Coin Study

A serious coin seller who is looking for success is usually advised to be a good reader, a good listener, willing to be guided, and ultimately a good decision-maker.

Once you have decided to venture into coin selling, you will realise that, over time, you have to narrow down and specialise in a specific category of coins.

After you have chosen one category of coins to deal in, you will further notice that you have to learn more about the history, insights and facts about various topics regarding your chosen category.

This sample case study can also be used as an outline model for all other worldwide coin categories.

There are hundreds of coin categories worldwide, each with a history, facts, and insights that can be highly advantageous for a coin seller privy to them.

Below, we have outlined several considerations for East African Colonial Coins that can be copied and pasted for other coin categories.

You are strongly advised to click on any and all of the links below that will lead you directly to getting a better view and more insights into a fruitful coin-selling experience.

Having prior information, knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of coin selling is extremely crucial.

This information offers an individual a head start advantage and better preparedness to handle the activity in a positive and fruitful manner.

A serious coin seller is always advised to take his or her time to study, learn and be aware of the nitty-gritty concepts of the industry so as to be in an advantageous position of selling their coins.

History Of Colonial Coins :-

From prehistoric times, barter trade was the only known form of exchange worldwide and in East Africa in particular.

Over time, it became clear that there was a need for a clearer, more elaborate way to measure how much an item was worth.

With these in mind, local proto-currencies came into being to facilitate quantification.

These included cowrie shells, salt bars, beads and other items that came in handy and were easily available.

As time went by, inter-commerce and long-distance trade emerged and were eventually propelled by the arrival of Arab caravans that established trade patterns and channels from distant foreign lands.

With the Arab invasion of the virgin East African lands, which were mostly in need of ivory and slaves, there arose a dire need for more sophisticated and elaborate media of exchange to accommodate the rising levels and volumes of trade.

As a result of the East African proto-currencies being largely unknown, the Arabs eventually had the upper hand in introducing their forms of payment and exchange into local trading channels.

It is worth noting that at these point, Arabs were trading with Europeans by use of world trade currencies that included the American Gold Dollar and Martha Theresa Thalers from Europe specifically Austria.

Since Arabs travelled across vast bodies of water from faraway, foreign, and unknown lands, they appeared more superior, sophisticated, and obviously knowledgeable.

With all these attributes, Arabs eventually had an upper hand in introducing their forms of exchange to the natives of East Africa and ultimately took over local trading patterns and channels.

As Arabs ventured deeper into East African lands, trading and mingling with an increasing number of uninformed locals, another hidden aspect of their dealings came into view.

Rightly and firmly stated, Arabs were proxies and groundsmen for more informed, powerful and established entities, interests, powers and forces that later on became the modern-day colonisers.

As trade continued between indigenous Africans and the visiting Arabs, moving from the coastline inwards into the deep forests and highlands, there arose a realisation that more untapped resources lay in these vast virgin lands.

This information was further relayed and eventually attracted European Traders, Rulers, Kings and Queens, who later sent expedition and exploration teams to ascertain and verify the data collected.

These events led to myriad changes in the lifestyles of East African locals, across education, religion, health, and other aspects of daily life, though we will focus on the economic and financial aspects of these changes.

Inside Colonial Coins :-

Once you have established and stabilised your passion for coin collecting, you may find that you need to better understand the origin, age, place of use, and the rulership under which your coins were minted.

Generally speaking, coins as a medium of exchange were conceived and created primarily by rulers and leaders of a particular society, who were the guiding lights by which all other people operated.

Different coins originated from various backgrounds, and in our context, East African colonial coins can be bracketed into two wide categories.

A wise coin collector is at an advantage when he or she has prior knowledge and information regarding a coins origin, history and usage.

After the scramble and partition of Africa, regions in and around modern-day East Africa were particularly apportioned to British and German control, even though, at various points in time, there were slight realignments among the colonisers.

These two entities shaped the main currencies of that time.

Further down, these wide currency categories are also subdivided depending on the rulers of a specific timeline since each had a particular style and fashion aimed at portraying their supremacy and also to mark their domination.

Firstly, let’s explore the British Empire rulers whose names are stamped on East African coins, since these names will be mentioned in our everyday engagements.

• King George IV :- 1820 – 1830
• King William IV :- 1830 – 1837
• Queen Victoria :- 1837 – 1901
• King Edward VII :- 1901 – 1910
• King George V :- 1910 – 1936
• King Edward VIII :- 1936
• King George VI :- 1936 – 1952
• Queen Elizabeth II :- 1952 till the end of colonialism

As a starting point, these British rulers influenced the coins that eventually circulated officially in colonial East Africa at various times.

As a result of the Berlin Conference (1884 – 1885), which regulated European colonisation during the New Imperialism period, Germany was also awarded large territories in East Africa.

With these in mind, it is therefore very wise for a coin collector to be privy to the ongoings in the German Empire’s history of rulers during that period since they also had a direct impact on the trading patterns which shape the study of colonial coins in East Africa.

1. Wilhelm I :- 1871 – 1888
2. Friedrich III :- 1888
3. Wilhelm II :- 1888 – 1918

A great point to note about the German Empire is that the title Kaiser was used as a title, similar to King or Emperor, whereas the term Guilelmus was particular to Wilhelm II.

NOTE: There were other rulers before the ones mentioned above. These empires have existed for as long as two thousand years. We simply focus on those that had a direct impact in the East African context.

Coins Of East Africa :-

As trading picked up in East Africa, slavery was a normal phenomenon, and slaves were the workhorses for transporting goods from the deep lands and forests up to the coastline, where boats and ships carried the loot further over water to faraway European lands.

One factor that shaped local currency at that time was the Uganda Railway, which was mainly built by Indians through the Imperial British East Africa Company (I.B.E.A.C).

The railway line was started in Mombasa in 1895 and reached Lake Victoria in 1901.

The workforce building the railway line was mainly paid in Indian Rupees that were minted in India, which was a British colony.

These resulted in the Indian Rupee being widely used and accepted in East Africa between 1870 and 1920.

Slightly around that time due to world war I intricacies, there erupted a situation commonly referred to as The East African Rupee Crisis.

This crisis resulted in the formation of a currency known as the Florin, which replaced the Indian Rupee, although it was short-lived, only for one year from 1920 to 1921

The Indian Rupee was decimalised into different fractions, giving rise to different types of coins.

Eventually, also different decimalised forms of the East African Shilling later came into being, thus elongating the list of East African coins.

1. 1 Mohur = 15 Rupees
2. 1 Rupee = 16 Annas
3. 1 Anna = 4 Pices
4. 1 Pice = 3 Pies
5. 1 Rupee = 1 Florin
6. 1 Rupee = 2 Shillings
7. 1 Florin = 2 Shillings
8. 1 Shilling = 100 Cents

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As all these were happening in British East Africa Protectorates, the German Empire was also not left behind in shaping its own part of the territory.

NOTE :- There were very few realignments in the currency structures of the British Protectorate coins as compared to the very many readjustments observed in the German East Africa coins.

The German Empire administered its area of jurisdiction through an entity called the German East African Company (Deutsch Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft – D.O.A.G.), which was given a mandate to mint coins for circulation and to perform other administrative functions.

Due to the widespread dominance of the British-led Indian Rupees, the D.O.A.G issued their own kind of Rupees and added inscriptions of their company name combined with symbols of the company’s coat of arms.

The company also added the Kaiser’s portrait in military combat regalia, with the trademark German Eagle perched on the Emperor’s helmet, as a way to distinguish G.E.A Rupees from Indian Rupees and to differentiate their spheres of currency circulation.

The Rupie (note the spelling) was the currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916, though it continued to circulate in the Tanganyika territory until 1920.

Shortly later, 1/4 and 1/2 Rupies were minted, followed by silver 2 Rupies in 1893.

The Rupie was minted in the same standards as the Indian Rupee.

With a similar silver composition, the same coin size, and the same coin value.

As a result of decimalisation, which was aimed at facilitating smaller and simpler transactions, the Rupie was subdivided into 100 Hellers between 1903 and 1905.

In 1904, D.O.A.G. introduced One-Heller and Half-Heller coins, followed by Five-Heller and Ten-Heller coins in 1908.

The 1/2 Heller coins were rejected by users because they were easily lost due to their small size and thinness.

In 1906, it was stopped from being minted.

The Five Heller coin, on the other hand, was rejected for being too large and was replaced in 1913 by a smaller cupro-nickel coin with a hole drilled in the middle.

These made them very popular among African users.

Drilling a hole in East African coins was a great colonial strategy to promote their usage among Africans who were accustomed to using strings to tie together their cowrie shells since they lacked pockets to store them.

The Uganda Railway line was an important driver of the economy during that period.

There was a lot of activity occasioned by its construction, including the movement of people and goods to and from the East African coastline.

Indians played a pivotal role in the retail trade by mopping up large quantities of subsidiary coins from African villages and consumers, then exchanging them for Rupees with white settlers, who in turn used the small coins to pay their workers and labourers.

Africans, on the other hand, preferred to use decimalised coins for ease of use and kept Rupees for savings.

There were notes in circulation, but Africans were afraid to use them for fear of losing them to fire, water, and insects.

The point to note is that these facts are differently applicable to other types of coins worldwide. All these movements are differently visible in other types of coins. We have used East African Colonial Coins as a sample case study.

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Another crucial factor shaping East African colonial coins was the First World War, fought between 1914 and 1918.

These wars pitted the Allied Powers against the Central Powers.

The German Empire was among the Central Powers bloc, and as a result, it faced many challenges in exercising control over its East African territory.

So severe were the challenges that the D.O.A.G. tried every possible means to stabilise their East African territory.

These included the introduction of emergency coins as a result of being cut off by a blockade imposed by Allied military forces.

Some of the emergency coins which were minted in Tabora in 1916 included the brass 5 heller in addition to brass and copper 20 Heller coins.

The gold 15 Rupien was also minted. The lower-denomination coins were crudely minted and looked very unprofessional, whereas the gold pieces received very fine minting.

Eventually, the Germans had to give up their East African territory immediately after World War I.

After these, the Florin coins served as an interim currency in East Africa between 1920 and 1921.

It replaced the Rupee at par and was immediately replaced by the East African Shilling at a rate of 2 Shillings = 1 Florin.

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Rare Coins :-

Coins are a medium of exchange and are used by a society or community for trade purposes, store of value and also a measure of value.

This makes them widely used and generally acceptable in a certain region.

Whereas modern coins are minted in their millions, rare coins were minted in low quantities, maybe hundreds or a few thousand or even less, depending on the limited available minting technology of that era.

The rarity or scarcity of a coin is influenced by a combination of factors, each playing a significant role in determining its market value.

How To Determine A Rare Coin :-

1. Mintage :- The total number of pieces that a particular coin was minted plays a pivotal role since the fewer they were minted, the rarer and eventually the higher in value and marketability they are likely to be.
2. Historical Significance :- Coins that are tied or related to a particular historical event, activity, person or period may have a higher demand, therefore have a good chance of being rated as rare, thus increasing in value.
3. Condition (Grade) :- A well-preserved coin has increased chances of being graded as a high-value coin, meaning it will fetch extremely good prices in the coin market.
4. Demand (Popularity) :- Coins that are highly sought after due to their appeal and thematic relevance may be graded as rare. These may make them of high value, therefore likely to fetch high market prices.
5. Material Composition :- The content of a coin may increase its rarity rating in the market, making it most likely to be graded as a high-value coin.
6. Errors And Varieties :- Coins with production errors, misprints, double strikes or other minting anomalies may be few in circulation, thus increasing their rarity status. These may also enhance their market value.
7. Age Bracket :- Older and information-rich coins attract a lot of interest, therefore tend to be scarce in circulation. This means they have a higher market value due to their rarity.
8. Provenance (Pedigree) :- Previous owners of a particular coin can impact the rarity of the coin. A coin previously owned by a renowned collector or individual may be rated as rare, thereby increasing its market value.

All the aforementioned factors are generally considered in assessing the rarity of a particular coin of interest and, eventually, its overall market value and price.

The more a coin fits in either or a majority of these factors, the more its market value increases.

Rare coins usually add diversity to a collector’s portfolio and can potentially provide long-term gains if properly harnessed.

They also offer a significant profit potential way above and beyond the metal and face value of the coin.

The rare coins market, like many other markets, is not free from volatility and fluctuations, though a seller is always assured of making good sales when the market is stable.

These forms of doctoring and counterfeiting of coins are what make coin experts very important in coin collecting, selling, and trading.

A beginner or amateur can be easily swayed into accepting a counterfeit coin on the pretext of a valid and authentic coin.

Trusted coin dealers and experts play an integral part in coin collecting and selling.

They guide amateurs and professional collectors alike to achieve the best trading conditions at all times.

Good News for you: you don’t have to worry about all that, since our company is here for you and will do all the hard work.

Special Coins :-

Coin collecting is a broad subject, and many people engage in it for various reasons that suit their preferences.

Apart from a coin being rare and evoking emotional interest due to its historical significance, other coins sometimes exhibit peculiar reactions when exposed to certain environmental conditions.

During different eras, coins were made from locally available materials.

Rulers, Kings and Queens of that time desired to showcase their conquests by using materials acquired from the lands that they had invaded and conquered.

Some of these materials could at times be very rare and could display very queer reactions when exposed to certain environmental situations and conditions.

Some of these coins could also show a peculiar ability to change or alter other substances that came into contact with them.

These reactions are widely used to determine the authenticity of a coin of interest, particularly for a category of coins generally referred to as Special Coins.

Great and extremely top-secret secrets were hidden in coins by both the mints and the owners who ordered them minted.

Luckily, there are advanced coin collectors, scholars, and researchers who, through diligence and determination, have managed to unravel these top secrets.

Some of these coins have very cleverly hidden treasure maps that lead to places of interest, including exploration sites, high-value natural deposits, or even to persons or events of particular interest.

With these in mind, a coin seller may possess a coin of very high value without knowing it, unless you partner with experienced coin dealers and trusted entities who can be free enough and willing to open up and incorporate you in the most secret of secrets.

Knowing which coin is a special coin is a delicate affair since, as earlier indicated, this category of coins is normally a very top-secret matter hinged on a lot of trust, cooperation, and partnership.

Special Coins are accompanied by additional normal features used to identify and authenticate them, since, at face value, they look just like normal rare coins, though they possess hidden features known only to advanced coin collectors, scholars, and researchers.

Error Coins :-

When coins are being minted, malfunctions or errors may occasionally occur during the process.

These may result in some coins not meeting the required standards or overall specifications.

Mint made errors occur as a result of mint equipment malfunction or mint staff interference, which results in some coins ending up being slightly different from the others.

Usually, such coins are reprocessed, though a few may find their way into circulation because some errors are too small to be easily noticed.

Simply and directly stated, error coins are rejects that many coin collectors may go to great lengths to acquire them. Due to these desire, error coins are very rare thus considered high value coins.

Mint errors, at times, are unavoidable, and these coins with errors may eventually find their way into circulation.

Mint errors can be classified into three broad categories.

1. Planchet Errors :- A planchet, also referred to as a blank, is a flat piece of metal on which an impression or design is pressed so as to make a coin.
2. Die Errors: A die is a metal tool used to punch an impression or design into the planchet. It contains an image’s inverse to be pressed onto the blank to make a coin.
3. Striking Errors: Striking is the process of using force to press a die onto a planchet to transfer the image, thus making a coin with the intended design and image.

Be aware of counterfeits created by unscrupulous individuals who alter ordinary coins to make them look like error coins.

The above categorisations of mint errors can result in different types of errors, which may include but are not limited to :-

Double/Triple strikes, Off-centres, Broad strikes, Die caps, Brockages, Bonded coins, Double denominations, Struck fragments, Fold overs, Missing edge lettering and many more types of coin errors that have distinct individual differences.

Commemorative Coins :-

A commemorative coin is a coin that is envisioned and minted with the purpose of remembering or commemorating a particular event, occasion or person.

These types of coins are created and shaped to portray the symbols, images, and inscriptions that depict the affair or entity being remembered.

A coin collector is normally advised and expected to handle commemorative coins within the parameters prescribed when handling high-value coins.

1. Regular Commemoratives :- These are coins that, apart from being a reminder or remembrance of a particular purpose, are also used in day-to-day commerce, economic and circulation purposes.
2. Circulating Commemoratives: These are commemorative coins used for day-to-day commerce, exchange, and circulation only, as they are minted just once and then cease to be produced.
3. Non-Circulating Commemoratives: These are coins that are legal tender but are not used for day-to-day exchange and commercial activities.

Generally speaking, commemoratives are a coin collector’s gem and desire.

They add value to one’s portfolio and collection.

They also attract many enthusiasts, therefore making them extremely valuable in the coin market.

Proof Coins :-

These are specially produced coins made from highly polished and treated planchets and dies, and are usually early samples of a coin issue made to check whether the mint process is perfect and in order.

Proof Coins are normally struck at least twice, therefore giving them a frosted, sculpted foreground, a glamorous shine and a mirror-like background.

Owning a proof coin is a sure avenue of getting good prices in the coin market, provided you stick to the principles of good coin collecting.

Bullion Coins :-

These are coins that are struck from highly refined precious metals and are minted specifically to be reserved and kept as stores of value rather than for day-to-day circulation and usage.

Bullion coins are targeted primarily by experienced, professional coin collectors who are investing.

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Whichever category of coins you intend to specialise in, always ensure you keep a keen eye on the condition of the coin, its rarity, its historical significance, its demand in the market and also its overall expected price return.

Last but not least, always partner with like-minded people and also with trusted coin dealers who can guide you to a successful, lifelong and fruitful business engagement.