Aidan: I said the notes were banned by the occupation authorities. I did not attribute that statement to you. That the notes were banned is an historical fact. My point was that it would not have made sense for the occupation authorities to have notes printed and then prohibit their circulation. I am going to pose this question to three individuals to see what their response is. The three individuals are the following: Milt Blackburn - Milt is a Canadian dealer who specialized in British Empire/Commonwealth notes for over 20 years. He is president of the Vancouver Chapter of the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) and a member of the board of directors of the IBNS. Tony Pisciotta - Tony is an American who also specializes in British Empire/Commonwealth and has served on the board of directors for IBNS. Dr. Heinz Wirz - Dr. Wirz is the president of the South African Chapter of IBNS. For sake of full disclosure, I have to let you know that I am on the board of directors of the IBNS and serve as its legal counsel. That having been said, I have never met these individuals and have only had contact with them in dealing with IBNS business. The question that I will ask is this: Do you consider the Swakopmunder Buchhandlung notes issued during WWI in South West Africa to be a British Empire/Commonwealth issue because they were issued while the colony was occupied or a German South West Africa issue? I will post their replies.
I for one look forward to seeing the replies :thumb: As you have both created a good argument for & against De Orc :kewl:
British Commonwealth numismatics. Lettow,go right ahead.I'm sure that they will agree with me that the Swakopmunder Buchhandlung notes are a South West African issue. Where's the proof that they were banned? I've never seen an article mentioning this. I also have a legal background myself.I served as a constitutional ally to Sir Michael Hardie-Boys,who was the Governor-General of New Zealand from 1996 to 2001.Whenever he wanted to get advice from me,he let me know whenever I was needed. I am a numismatist who specialises in the numismatic history of the British Commonwealth.I have 2 websites here; www.bcnumismaticproject.com & here; http://bcnumismaticforum.phpbbnow.com .I'd gladly welcome any information,including P & PS numbers & the names of the various issuers. Aidan.
I try to bring light into the dark. In 1915, when German South West Africa was occupied by the troops of South Africa, many small dealers issued their own emergency money. The problem was, that there was no garantee deposited. In 1916 the Swakopmunder Buchandlung (bookstore in Swakopmund) issued emergency notes by order of the Kaufmannschaft Windhuk (mercantile community in Windhuk) This community was a federation of about 4 dozen dealers and a dozen hotels all over German South West Africa. In 1918 (January 28) all emergency notes without a garantee deposit will banned by the secretary of the british occupation government. After this the Swakopmunder Buchandlung issued a new series with a garantee deposit at the Suedwestafrikanische Bodenkreditgesellschaft (south west african land credit association). These notes are in circulation till the end of 1918. After January 1, 1919 only the notes of the South African Union are officially in circulation. btw: the Swakopmunder Buchandlung still exists ...
Dove,what other traders issued their own notes when South West Africa was under South African administration? 'Windhuk' is actually the German form of Windhoek. So,I am right to classify the Swakopmunder Buchhandlung (Swakopmund Bookshop) notes as a British Commonwealth issue.I wonder what Lettow will think. Aidan.
All these companies have issued emergency money: A. Erkrath (a hotel in Swakopmund) Barthel Auto-Droschken-Verkehr (a cab company in Windhoek) Cape Town Silver Grill (a cafe bar in Windhoek) Deutsche Farm-Gesellschaft (a meat factory in Neu-Heusis) Eduard Hälbich Wwe. (a general store in Karibib) Ein- und Verkaufsgenossenschaft (a trading association in Windhoek) F. Gramowski / Victoria (a hotel in Windhoek) F.G Rübner / Kaiserhof (a hotel in Karibib) Farm Voigtland (the greatest farm of German South West Africa / 2900 square miles) Gebr. Hülsmann / Zur Roten Erde (a hotel in Windhoek) H. Gunkel (a general store in Klein-Windhoek) H. Liwinowski (a fashion store in Windhoek) H. Röhlig (a hotel in Windhoek) Heinrich Elias (a publishing house in Windhoek) Heinrich Warsow / Europäischer Hof (a hotel in Swakopmund) Held & Straube (a company in Windhoek) J. Chiat (an export house in Windhoek) J. G. Erhardt Nachfolger (a menswear store in Windhoek) J. Kronheimer & Co. (a company in Windhoek) Josef Schneeweiss (a company in Windhoek) Kaiserhof (a hotel in Windhoek) Kazmaier & Wintterlin (a company in Windhoek) Lüderitzbuchter Zeitung (a newspaper publishing company in Lüderitz) Ludwigslust (a restaurant in Windhoek) M. Sänger (a tailor in Windhoek) Max Schlechter (a general store in Windhoek) Milchzentrale Windhuk (the dairy of Windhoek) Otavi OMEG (a mining and railway company in Tsumeb) Otto Warncke (a food importing company in Windhoek) P. Beeck / Thüringer Hof (a hotel in Windhoek) Pamonahügel (the staff canteen of the german colonial army, located nearby Lüderitz) Paul Miersch / Hansa-Hotel (a hotel in Swakopmund) Reiche & Co. (a general store in Karibib) Rösemann (a hotel in Karibib) Rösemann & Kronewitter (two general stores, located in Karibib and in Omaruru) Rothe & Hagen (two general stores, located in Grootfontein and in Outjo) Rudolf Schuster (a company in Windhoek) Sonja Scholz (a company in Windhoek) Spar- und Darlehnskasse Gibeon (Gibeon savings and loan association) Spiesser & Silla (a bakery in Windhoek) Südwestafrikanische Bodenkreditanstalt (the Lüderitz branch of the south west african land credit association) Swakopmunder Bankverein (a cooperative bank in Swakopmund) Swakopmunder Buchhandlung Windhuk (the Windhoek agency of the Swakopmund bookshop) Viktoria Apotheke (a pharmacy in Windhoek) Wecke & Voigts Karibib (a general store in Karibib) Wecke & Voigts Okahandja (a general store in Okahandja) Wecke & Voigts Swakopmund (a general store in Swakopmund) Wecke & Voigts Windhuk (a general store in Windhoek)
Dove,that is a very interesting list of emergency banknote issuers.If these were all issued from 1915 until 1918,then they are South West African (& British Commonwealth) issues.It is a pity that these have never been listed in the Pick Specialised banknote catalogue in the South West African chapter. Aidan.
The date of issue of all the notes in my list was between 1915 and 1918. The only reference where these notes are listed is Dr. Arnold Keller - Das Papiergeld der deutschen Kolonien - Muenster, 1967 Unfortunately this book is available in german language only.
Here's a couple of links that will be of interest; http://pilot.citizendium.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_Swakopmund_Bookshop_(South_West_Africa) & http://pilot.citizendium.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_South_West_Africa . Aidan.
James,did you ever hear back from those people in the I.B.N.S. about the Swakopmund Bookshop notes? Aidan.
the denominations: A. Erkrath (a hotel in Swakopmund), 20 Pfennig Barthel Auto-Droschken-Verkehr (a cab company in Windhoek), 1 Mark Cape Town Silver Grill (a cafe bar in Windhoek), 0.50 Mark Deutsche Farm-Gesellschaft (a meat factory in Neu-Heusis), 1 - 2 Mark Eduard Hälbich Wwe. (a general store in Karibib), denominations unknown Ein- und Verkaufsgenossenschaft (a trading association in Windhoek), 50 Pfennig F. Gramowski / Victoria (a hotel in Windhoek), 1 Mark F.G Rübner / Kaiserhof (a hotel in Karibib), 0.50 Mark Farm Voigtland (the greatest farm of German South West Africa / 2900 square miles), denominations unknown Gebr. Hülsmann / Zur Roten Erde (a hotel in Windhoek), 0.50 - 1 - 2 Mark H. Gunkel (a general store in Klein-Windhoek), 0.50 Mark H. Liwinowski (a fashion store in Windhoek), 0.50 Mark H. Röhlig (a hotel in Windhoek), 2 Mark Heinrich Elias (a publishing house in Windhoek), 50 Pfennig Heinrich Warsow / Europäischer Hof (a hotel in Swakopmund), 1 Mark Held & Straube (a company in Windhoek), 1 Mark J. Chiat (an export house in Windhoek), 0.50 Mark J. G. Erhardt Nachfolger (a menswear store in Windhoek), 1 Mark J. Kronheimer & Co. (a company in Windhoek), 2 Mark Josef Schneeweiss (a company in Windhoek), 1 Mark Kaiserhof (a hotel in Windhoek), 50 Pfennig Kaiserkrone (a hotel in Windhoek), 1 Mark Kazmaier & Wintterlin (a company in Windhoek), 1 Mark Lüderitzbuchter Zeitung (a newspaper publishing company in Lüderitz), 10 Pfennig (5 different colours) Ludwigslust (a restaurant in Windhoek), 0.50 Mark M. Sänger (a tailor in Windhoek), 1 Mark Max Schlechter (a general store in Windhoek), 2 Mark Milchzentrale Windhuk (the dairy of Windhoek), 1 Mark Otavi OMEG (a mining and railway company in Tsumeb), 0.50 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 10 - 20 Mark Otto Warncke (a food importing company in Windhoek), 1 Mark P. Beeck / Thüringer Hof (a hotel in Windhoek), 1 Mark Pamonahügel (the staff canteen of the german colonial army, located nearby Lüderitz), 10 - 25 Pfennig Paul Miersch / Hansa-Hotel (a hotel in Swakopmund), 1 Mark Reiche & Co. (a general store in Karibib), denominations unknown Rösemann (a hotel in Karibib), denominations unknown Rösemann & Kronewitter (two general stores, located in Karibib and in Omaruru), 10 - 25 - 50 Pfennig - 1 - 2 Mark Rothe & Hagen (two general stores, located in Grootfontein and in Outjo), 2 Mark Rudolf Schuster (a company in Windhoek), 0.50 - 1 - 2 Mark Sonja Scholz (a company in Windhoek), 0.50 Mark Spar- und Darlehnskasse Gibeon (Gibeon savings and loan association), 0.10 - 0.25 - 0.50 - 1 - 2 Mark Spiesser & Silla (a bakery in Windhoek), 50 Pfennig - 1 Mark Südwestafrikanische Bodenkreditanstalt (the Lüderitz branch of the south west african land credit association), 50 Pfennig - 1 Mark Swakopmunder Bankverein (a cooperative bank in Swakopmund), 50 Pfennig - 1 - 2 Mark Swakopmunder Buchhandlung Windhuk (the Windhoek agency of the Swakopmund bookshop), 0.50 Mark Viktoria Apotheke (a pharmacy in Windhoek), 2 Mark Wecke & Voigts Karibib (a general store in Karibib), denominations unknown Wecke & Voigts Okahandja (a general store in Okahandja), denominations unknown Wecke & Voigts Swakopmund (a general store in Swakopmund), 1 - 2 Mark Wecke & Voigts Windhuk (a general store in Windhoek), 0.50 Mark
Danke,Jurgen.That is a very comprehensive listing you have posted there.If you do have any of these notes,you can email your photos of the note(s),including the above list to Thomas Michael at michaelt@krause.com .I am sure that he will pass your information into the banknote catalogue department for hopefully listing in the next edition of the Pick Specialised catalogue (Standard Catalogue of World Paper Money,Specialized Issues). You should also let them know that the Swakopmunder Buchhandlung notes that are currently listed are wrongly under German South West Africa,when they should be listed under South West Africa. Aidan.
It seems that we aren't going to get an answer in relation to the Swakopmund Bookshop banknotes from the members of the I.B.N.S.. Aidan.
An attempt to things... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_Swakopmund_Bookshop and Google... images... search: Swakopmunder Buchhandlung
Them's good ezzamples. "Africa" is France: Colonies Institut D'mission D'outre-Mer "Confederate" is a privately issued Fantasy Note. And "Hawaii" is Soviet Union [Roosevelt/Wallace Administration].