Strangely prescient having Arabic on a German coin from 1890

Germany was late to the empire building game overseas, which many of its competitors like Britain and Spain had been doing for centuries. But once Bismarck integrated the countless German entities in Europe during the mid-to-late 19th century, the German imperialists focused on expanding their influence in Africa and elsewhere. This resulted in the creation of German East Africa and the unique currency like that above.

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