Eritrean Coins

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Early Eritrean History
Human history in Eritrea is as old as humanity itself, as some of the earliest homo sapiens remains, dating as far back as 1 million BC have been discovered there. Its earliest reference in written history dates back to the 25th Century BC, where it is referred to in Ancient Egyptian records as being part of 'Punt' or 'Gods Land'. It was later part of the Kingdom of Aksum from the Second to the 10th Centuries AD.

Foreign Rule
From the 16th Century until 1880s, Eritrea was mostly a province of the Ottoman Empire, although parts came under the authority of the Ethiopian Empire. By the 1880s, the by now sclerotic Ottoman Empire was being edged out of Eritrea by the Italians, who formed the colony of Italian Eritrea in 1890. Italian Eritrea was used as the staging post for the Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1895, which resulted in a shock defeat for Italians, in what was the first and only defeat of a European power in a war of colonial expansion.
The rise of Fascism in Italy saw a change in attitude towards Eritrea by the Italian Government. Fascist Italy dreamed of turning Eritrea into the Industrial Powerhouse of Eastern Africa. However, notions of Italian racial superiority largely excluded the Eritreans from this process, except as labour.
In 1935, Eritrea was once again used as a springboard by the Italians to invade Ethiopia, and this time the Italians were successful, annexing Ethiopia as part of their Empire.

Ethiopian Annexation
In 1941, The British managed, with the aid of Ethiopian insurgents to defeat the Italians in Eastern Africa, and Eritrea fell under British Military rule, and remained under it until 1952. It had been decided at the UN that Eritrea would join the Empire of Ethiopia under a loose federal union, under which Eritrea would be self-governing, except for foreign affairs, defence and a few other areas relating to external links.
However, Emperor Haile Selassie pressured the local administration to dissolve itself and come under his central authority. He achieved this by 1962, although armed resistance to Ethiopian rule had been taking place since before this time.

War of Independence
The Eritrean Liberation Front was formally established in 1960 to unite the ad-hoc mixture of anti-Ethiopian fighters in Eritrea. They fought a guerrilla campaign against Ethiopian forces throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1970s, a split in the ELF led to the foundation of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, which, as its name might suggest, was a much more left-wing organisation that enjoyed the support of the Soviet Union. After a Civil War between the two factions, which took place whilst the war with Ethiopia was on-going, the EPLF eventually supplanted the ELF as the main organisation fighting against Ethiopian Rule.
The war for Eritrean Independence continued after the Haille Selassie was overthrown in 1974 and replaced by the Marxist Derg Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. However, during the 1980s, opposition within Ethiopia to the Communist Regime was growing amongst the Ethiopians themselves. In 1991, the Derg was overthrown by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. As a reward for the support of the EPLF in their struggle against the Derg, the new Ethiopian Government promised a referendum on Eritrean independence, which took place and proved to be overwhelmingly in favour of independence. Eritrea thus emerged as a separate country in 1993. The EPLF transformed itself in to the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, and remains as the only legal party in Eritrea.

Tensions with Ethiopia
Despite initially cordial relations between the post-Derg Ethiopian administration and Eritrea, tensions developed throughout the 1990s over the town of Badme (population 1,500), which both countries claimed as their own. Relations deteriorated further and further until 1998, when after a series of Border incidents near Badme, Eritrea launched a military assault in the Badme region. Ethiopia mobilised its own forces and counterattacked. After a two year conflict and a UN brokered ceasefire (and 100,000s of casualties on both sides). Ethiopia gained defacto control over Badme and its surrounding regions, although Eritrea was recognised as having legal sovereignty over the area. In spite of this Ethiopia remains in control over Badme, and the issue is a source of conflict between the two nations.

Eritrea Today
Eritrea remains one of the world's poorest countries, partly as a result of the expensive war with Ethiopia, and also because of the political instability in the region deterring foreign investment. Eritrea remains a one party state and tensions with Ethiopia remain unresolved. It is believed by some that Eritrea supports the ongoing insurgency in Somalia that is making it impossible to govern there, in part because it helps keep Ethiopian troops tied up there.

Coinage of Eritrea
The currency of Eritrea today is the Nafka, divided into 100 cents. Coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, in addition to 1 nakfa are issued for use in circulation. This replaced the Ethiopian Birr at par. During the colonial period, the Italian Lira and the British East African Shilling circulated in the region. Austrian Maria Theresa Thalers (which have been issued as restrikes by the Austrian Mint since 1780) have long been a widely used trade coin in Eritrea. Before and during World War II, both British and Italian authorities struck their own version of the Maria Theresa Thaler to use in Eritrea (and Ethiopia), sometimes with limited success.

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Eritrean Coins

Gold Coins
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Eritrean Gold Coins