African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 327: Chapter 10 Rhine Shield

The financial bonds for trade between East Africa and Abysinnia are special bonds issued by Heixinggen Bank under the supervision of the East African government, serving as a currency in the East African region.

The East African government is currently considering issuing its own currency, and Ernst is busy with this matter.

March 14, 1871.

An East African Kingdom investigation delegation led by Ernst officially began an inspection of the Swedish mint with the approval of the Swedish royal family, composed mostly of Heixinggen Bank employees.

Weins, the governor of the Swedish Bank, was in charge of reception: ”The earliest banknotes in Europe were issued by our bank in 1661, marking the beginning of the European paper currency era. However, the issuance of banknotes then was merely a supplement due to the lack of metal currency; they were not a true form of currency. Our mint not only has a long history and rich experience but also has been at the forefront in the application of new technologies in Europe.”

Weins first introduced the Swedish bank’s experience in this area. In 17th century Sweden, currency transactions mainly depended on coins. In 1661, Swedish King Karl XI Gustav decided to introduce banknotes as a legal form of currency. These banknotes were government-issued and gold-backed, ensuring their value and credibility. Swedish banknotes became the first officially issued paper currency in European history. They were called ”official banknotes” at the time, similar to the current East African financial bonds, except that East Africa itself does not produce metal currency.

Weins: ”These Swedish krona are mainly made of cotton fibers, with a small amount of flax fibers and a large amount of wood pulp.”

The krona originates from Latin, meaning ”crown.”

Ernst: ”Our East African banknotes generally use cotton, high-quality sisal, and a small amount of wood pulp.”

Weins: ”Oh! Is that so? I’m not very familiar with sisal. Sweden doesn’t lack wood, but even for cotton, we need a large amount of imports.”

Ernst took the opportunity to promote East African sisal: ”Sisal is a long fiber, characterized by high strength, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high-temperature resistant, and fast moisture absorption and release. The paper produced from it has obvious advantages: it’s not only sturdy but also easy to preserve and fold, providing a strong sense of comfort. It’s one of the main raw materials for making financial bonds at our Heixinggen Bank.”

Weins: ”How about its price and production volume?”

Ernst: ”Sisal’s feature is high yield, generally yielding about three tons per acre. However, it is only suitable for growth in tropical and subtropical regions. Our entire East African region is in the tropics, surpassing its original birthplace Mexico, currently making it the largest sisal producer in the world.”

Weins: ”Oh! But we can just use wood pulp. However, if the price of sisal is affordable, we could purchase some to improve our banknotes’ quality.”

Ernst immediately responded: ”There’s no problem with that. We have a sisal processing plant in Hamburg used for producing ship cable raw materials. If you need any, you can directly make purchases in Hamburg, and we can offer you a 5% discount.”

This isn’t Ernst being stingy; East African sisal is indeed very popular. However, if there are more buyers, East Africa won’t refuse, as the planting area can be expanded in response to market demand!

Weins: ”Hahaha, if that’s the case, we’ll send technical and procurement personnel to research it.”

Next, Weins took Ernst and his group to continue observing the mechanical equipment within the Swedish mint.

Weins: ”This printing equipment was specially ordered from Britain. Of course, due to the level of industrial development, Sweden still has some deficiencies in this area. However, the design was entirely self-developed by us, so it’s considered our own brand. Both France and Prussia could manufacture machinery of such precision, but the British offered the lowest bid, so we completed the manufacturing of this printing equipment in London using design drawings, and then transported it back to Sweden for commissioning.”

Ernst: ”What level is it equivalent to?”

Weins: ”There is hardly anything more advanced than it. However, if you wish to obtain a set, modifications to some internal structures, such as the molds, are required since every set of banknotes is different. As for anti-counterfeiting techniques, each client’s demand is different. Of course, now there are few such clients, as many countries still manufacture and use coins.”

Weins’s last words struck a chord, and this is why Ernst traveled across seas to Sweden.

If the Austro-Hungarian Empire had mature technology, Ernst would definitely have chosen to collaborate with them first. However, Austria-Hungary still uses coins as currency and lacks experience in this area, coupled with the excellent relationship between the Heixinggen and Swedish royal families, thus choosing Sweden.

As for why not choose Germany, it’s because Germany’s paper currency technology is almost the same as that of Heixinggen Bank. The financial bonds issued by Heixinggen Bank were developed using German technology and talent. Moreover, Germany’s current monetary system is very complex and hasn’t unified currency. Like Austria-Hungary, metallic coins prevail, although many states use paper currency, the entire empire still primarily circulates metal currency. This time, Heixinggen Bank mainly came to learn Swedish paper currency anti-counterfeiting technology, as Sweden has a long history of using paper currency, accumulating extensive experience in this area.

The saying goes, ”The higher the road, the higher the demon,” describing how competition and progress in anti-counterfeiting technology is driven by challenges and experience. Sweden has been advancing for hundreds of years and has encountered some problems that other countries haven’t yet faced.

Regarding anti-counterfeiting technology, East Africa need not worry too much. There aren’t people with such capabilities among the East African populace, considering that most cannot count to five, let alone undertake the high-difficulty task of counterfeiting currency.

However, the currency East Africa will issue next is different from the financial bonds, which only exist within the East African region; it intends to enter international circulation, primarily in Germany and Austria-Hungary, so the anti-counterfeiting technology should not be taken lightly.

Heixinggen Bank has gained experience in manufacturing banknotes through issuing financial bonds and has its unique skills. However, having only developed for two or three years, it certainly cannot compare with the centuries-old paper currency technology of Sweden. Therefore, this trip to Sweden serves to fill the last gap — experience.

The delegation members are mostly the Heixinggen Bank’s technicians, here to introduce advanced Swedish technology and experience, then combine them with their paper currency technology, launching East African Kingdom’s own currency through a powerful union.

The currency for East Africa has been planned, named the ”Rhenish Taler,” yet it greatly differs from the current Rhenish Taler in the German regions.

Firstly, the East African ”Rhenish Taler” is a banknote, while Europe’s Rhenish Taler comprises gold and silver coins.

Secondly, the face value of the East African ”Rhenish Taler” is one, five, ten, twenty, fifty, hundred, and five hundred talers.

Similar to the crown, the taler is a unit, but it means ”gold coin,” and ”Rhine” is the currency name.

Finally, the East African ”Rhenish Taler” will feature Constantine’s ”beautified portrait” as the front character image. As Constantine’s actual hairstyle was quite indescribable, Ernst personally decided that Constantine’s half-length uniform image would serve as the template, thus being able to cover the hair with the unique spiked helmet of the German forces.

Simultaneously, the back of the currency will be uniformly illustrated with Hohenzollern Castle, adding emblems and other symbols representing the Hohenzollern family, anchored in gold. One British Pound equals 30 East African ”Rhenish Taler,” and one East African ”Rhenish Taler” equals 0.22 grams of gold. In terms of gold reserves, East Africa is more than secure, given there is a gold mine existing in the Great Lakes Region located inland, it is relatively safe to develop. Furthermore, Heixinggen Bank has built numerous vaults in Europe.

The East African currency is simply called ”Rhenish Taler” without any other names. However, for distinguishing purposes in international circulation, distinguishing it from the Rhenish Taler used in Austria-Hungary and other regions, merchants and financial institutions would prefix ”East African” as a qualifier, a practice that continued until the late 19th century when the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased producing Rhenish Taler, making it exclusively the East African Kingdom’s currency name.