2017-08-28 Mon

Stack’s Bowers Galleries, Spink London, and Trusted Traditions have come together for a private treaty sale of a complete Waterlow and Sons set of banknotes from Zanzibar. Seller and buyer names along with the sale value will not be disclosed to the public. Collectors are willing to shell out a lot of money to acquire these rare notes.

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania which has a 20,000-year long history. The British Protectorate of 1890 gave Zanzibar its World Banknote fame. Zanzibar started printing money via Waterlow and Sons in 1908. 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 Rupees banknotes were released earlier. 500 Rupees note was printed in 1920, which is very rare to find today.

A six-note set of these banknotes, certified by PCGS Currency, was sold in 2015 for an unknown amount. 5 Rupees note was for $129,250 in January 2017 by Stack’s Bowers Galleries. Experts believe that there is a lot of demand for these rare notes in the British Commonwealth, Africa, and the Gulf.