Ethiopian Coins

Emperor Menelik II on Obverse of Ethiopia 1 Birr

Countries

Lion of Judah on Reverse of Ethiopia 1 Birr

Close Up Of Date

A Brief History
One of the earliest civilisations was that at Axum or Aksum in the north of modern day Ethiopia, previously known as Abyssinia. It was supposedly founded by Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and Queen sheba in the tenth century BC, although its modern history starts only with Menelik II under whom it emerged from its medieval state. This civilisation continued unconquered until 1936 when Italy successfully occupied it until 1941. In 1974 Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by a military coup, which in turn fell to rebels, the EPRDF (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front) in 1991. The capital is Addis Ababa.

Coins
We do not often get Ethiopian coins, although they do now issue modern collectors commemoratives, but we do occasionally see some of the older coins, such as the silver 1 Birr piece which we show in our photograph.

Menelik II
Born 1844, and reigned as Emperor from 1889 to 1913. The 1 Birr crown sized coins are quite impressive. Although we do not currently have any for sale, we thought it worth describing them.
On the obverse is a large portrait of Menelik II, with the date 1895 underneath. This translates as 1903 in our calendar. On the reverse is the Lion of Judah, a national symbol of Abyssinia.

Date
Reading the dates of Ethiopian coins is a slight challenge. The five components of the date which we have shown enlarged represent respectively the figures 10, 8, 100, 90, and 5. This is read by adding, multiplying and adding (10+8 =18, multiplying by 100 = 1800, then adding 90+5, making 1895). This is in the Ethiopian calendar which started 7 years and 8 months after our AD calendar. Our coin then was issued between September 1902 and August 1903.

Specifications

Denomination	Diameter	Weight	Alloy	Silver Content
1 Birr	34	28.0750	.835	.7537

Notes
Denomination = Face Value
Diameter = Diameter in millimetres
Weight = Weight in Grams
Alloy = Fineness of Silver (.835 = 83.5%)
Silver Content = Actual pure silver content in troy ounces.

Postage & Packing:
UK: At buyer's Risk £2.50 or
Fully Insured £6 (Usually by Royal Mail Special Delivery)
USA: Airmail at buyer's risk $10 or
Fully Insured $20
For further details, please see our Postage & Packing page.

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2000 World Coin Sets

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World Coin Sets - 1999 & Previous Issues

World Coin Sets - 2000 Issues

Index of Year 2001 Coins & Sets

Millennium Masterpiece World Silver Coin Collection

EuroZone Members & Euro Information

Ethiopian Gold Coins
For Ethiopian coins in gold, please look at the Ethiopian Coins page of our Tax Free Gold website.