When I first began collecting paper money 20+ years ago, one of the areas that I actively collected was the notes from German East Africa which is now part of Tanzania. Most of the notes from the colony were issued during WWI. The history of WWI in Africa, particularly East Africa is a fascinating one. The commander of the German forces in East Africa was a gentleman by the name of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. When I began my on-line life, I adopted the short version of his name as my username. Here he is depicted on a 75 pfennig notgeld from Berlin from 1921. This notgeld from Quern commemmorates his visit to that city in 1919. Here is an example of the notes issued in German East Africa during the war. While most notes were printed by a commercial printer, this particular note was printed using a toy printing set with rubber type.
Reminds me of my Air Force basic training days; the female MTI's wore a hat similar to that. Half of the hat is pinned up to allow one to carry a long rifle without it hitting the hat. (Like a lot of military traditions, there was a practical reason for it at some point that just got preserved long past the time there was any actual necessity for it. Why this particular traditon was preserved for female Air Force instructors, I don't know, especially as it predates the time women were common in the military and for that matter, the existance of the US Air Force. Like a lot of military tradtions, "just 'cause" I suppose, lol...)
Very nice note :smile and I had wonderd about your user name the hat looks a lot like the Australian bush hat :smile
Very interesting notes. It would be cool if you could use von Lettow-Vorbeck's image on that top note for your avatar. Just a suggestion.
It would be cool if you could use von Lettow-Vorbeck's image on that top note for your avatar. Just a suggestion. I hadn't thought of that. My usual avatar is the crest of the 7th US Cavalry, one of my Army units.
