Hard to find this nice. The colony was established by treaties with local chiefs in 1884. It became a protectorate in 1891 and a full colony in 1897. The territory was established in what then was known as Tanganyika (Tanzania). The colony was lost after WWI. Only 200K were struck for this last year of issue - Scarce!
On February 28, 1904, a monetary reform was carried out in German East Africa, the essence of which was to switch to a decimal coin stop. Previously, one rupee GEA corresponded to 64 pesas, but since the 1904 it was equal to 100 hellers. The name of the change in a somewhat transformed form ("HELA") has firmly entered the Swahili language as a synonym for the word "money", and is still used today (at least 150 million Africans speak Swahili). (Numista Forum)
The BEST article on German E. Africa Coins is:
German East Africa Coins - Sandrock: German East Africa Coins - Sandrock
German Colonies
German E. Africa 5 Heller
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