2017-01-25 Wed

A 1st Jan 1908 uniface Zanzibar 5-rupee note, graded Very Fine 35 had an estimated value of $50,000 to $75,000 and was sold for $129,250 in Stack’s Bowers Galleries NYINC auction.

It is the finest certified uncancelled issued Zanzibar note and the lowest denomination in the nation’s first series of five denominations. 10-, 20-, 50-, and 100-rupee denomination notes of the same series are also very rare. It is a uniface design featuring a dhow with lateen sails, the sun and farmers harvesting fruits. Lathe work is featured on three sides with the numeral 5 in each corner. Similar notes were printed in 1916, 1920 and 1928, out of which only 500 exist. A set of 5-, 10-, 20- and 100-rupee specimens were sold in 2011 by Spink for £180,000.