The
rupee
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
was the
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general def ...
of
Britain's East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
n colonies and protectorates between 1906 and 1920. It was divided into 100
cents.
The rupee replaced the
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...
, which had previously circulated. In 1920, the rupee was revalued against
sterling to a peg of 1 rupee = 2 shillings (1 florin). In East Africa, this was followed in the same year by the replacement of the rupee with the
East African 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 at par, and was replaced in turn by the East African shilling at a rate ...
at par and then in 1921 by the
East African shilling at 2 shillings per florin or rupee.
The currency is noteworthy for including the world's first
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
, the 1907 1 cent coin.
Coins
Silver coins were introduced for 25 and 50 cents in 1906, followed by the aluminium 1 cent and cupro-nickel 10 cent coins in 1907, the aluminium ½ cent coin in 1908 and the cupro-nickel 5 cent coin in 1913. Cupro-nickel replaced aluminium in 1909.
Banknotes
In 1906, notes (the first dated 1905) were introduced by the government of the East Africa Protectorate in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 40, 100 and 500 rupees. In 1920, the
East African Currency Board
The East African Currency Board (EACB) was established in 1919 to supply and oversee the currency of British colonies in British East Africa. It was established after Britain took control of mainland Tanzania from Germany at the end of World War ...
issued 1 rupee notes shortly before the rupee was replaced.
References
Global Financial Data currency histories table
Modern obsolete currencies
Currencies of Africa
Currencies of the British Empire
Currencies of Kenya
Currencies of Tanzania
Currencies of Uganda
East Africa
1906 establishments in the British Empire
1920 disestablishments in the British Empire
20th century in Africa
{{africa-hist-stub