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Emperor Menelik II on Obverse of Ethiopia 1 Birr
Emperor Menelik II on Obverse of Ethiopia 1 Birr

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Lion of Judah on Reverse of Ethiopia 1 Birr
Lion of Judah on Reverse of Ethiopia 1 Birr

A Brief History of Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a landlocked nation in Eastern Africa, bordering Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan. Its capital is Addis Ababa.

Ancient Ethiopia
Ethiopia was home to some of the world's earliest humans, and Homo sapiens remains dating back as far 160,000 years ago have been discovered there. The first written records relating to the people living in Ethiopia date back to 3,000 BC, when the lands encompassing Ethiopia were known to the Ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom as 'Punt', who traded in frankincense and myrrh, in addition to other mineral goods.
Between the 8th and 5th Centuries BC, an area which partly consisted of Northern Ethiopia made up part of the Kingdom of Damot. It is also believed (although this belief is disputed) that Ethiopia was the location of the semi-legendary Kingdom of Sheba mentioned in the Old Testament.
The existence of the Kingdom of Axum is much more tangible however, and existed between the Second and Tenth Centuries AD, centred around the Ethiopian city of Axum, although this empire also ruled over what is now Eritrea and parts of Sudan. During this time, Christianity developed and took hold in Ethiopia. Largely cut off from the Roman Empire and the rest of the Christian world, particularly after the Arab Conquests, Ethiopia developed its own version of Christianity, now known as the Orthodox Ethiopian Church.

Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire, also known by contemporaries as Abyssinia, was founded by the Zagwe Dynasty in 1137. The Zagwe Dynasty was supplanted by the Solominid Dynasty in 1270, who claimed descent from the ancient Axumite kings. The Solominid Dynasty was to rule Ethiopia for the most part until 1974. Abyssinia under the Solominid conquered the territories of what is now Ethiopia along with other areas, including Eritrea, and fought off invasion attempts by Arabs and Ottomans attempting to assimilate the Empire within their own territories.
In 1868, a punitive expedition against the Ethiopian Emperor Tewedros II was launched in retaliation for his abduction and ill-treatment of several European hostages Tewedros II killed himself on the brink of Capture by the British, and thus transformed himself from a hated contemporary ruler to a national hero for his defiance of foreign aggression.
During the 'Scramble for Africa' in the latter part of the 19th Century, Ethiopia was the only African country to successfully resist attempts at colonisation. Italy, who had occupied nearby Eritrea after displacing its former Ottoman overlords, launched an invasion in 1895 in an attempt to conquer Ethiopia for its Empire. Italy's shock defeat in the First Italo-Ethiopian War of 1895-1896 gave Ethiopia a new found respect amongst western powers, although it remained a source of bitterness for the Italians, who longed for vengeance.

Haile Selassie
Perhaps Ethiopia's most famous leader, Emperor Haile Selassie ascended the throne in 1930. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia and this time completed its conquest the following year. Haile Selassie came to prominence internationally in 1936 when he gave an impassioned speech to the League of Nations condemning Italy's aggression towards Ethiopia and calling for world support in his struggle to regain Ethiopian independence. Although he found support from the League of Nations disappointing, he nevertheless came to be seen by many as a world statesman.
Ethiopia was finally liberated in 1941, when Britain drove the Italians out of their East African possessions. Haile Selassie was restored to his throne, and successfully lobbied the nascent United Nations to allow them to annex former Italian Eritrea into the Ethiopian Empire, much to the dismay of many of the native Eritreans. Haile Selassie came to be seen as a messiah by the new Rastafari religion that emerged in the 1930s, whose adherents viewed him as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. He ruled until 1974, when he was overthrown by the Marxist Derg movement. He was probably murdered the following year.

The Derg
The Derg was a Marxist military Junta, with the self-proclaimed idea of running Ethiopia as a Socialist Republic. The coup was strongly contested however, and although the Derg managed to seize power, a civil war between the Derg Government (which restyled itself as a civilian-government in 1987) and anti-Derg rebels lasted until 1991, when the rebels seized the capital of Addis Ababa. The civil war devastated Ethiopia, and the chaos exacerbated the effects of a disastrous famine in 1984, inspiring the 'Live Aid' concert of that year to encourage worldwide donations for famine relief.
Since winning the Civil War, The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has been Ethiopia's ruling coalition. The EPRDF was allied with pro-independence Eritrean Rebels, who were granted a referendum which led to independence for Eritrea in 1993.
In 1998-2000, Ethiopia fought a war with Eritrea over the disputed Badme region, resulting in a military victory for Ethiopia.

Coinage in Ethiopia
Due to extensive trading links with the Graeco-Roman world, Roman and Greek coins were used in Ethiopia. The Axumite Kingdom introduced its own currency in about 270 AD. Perhaps due to its proximity to the Hellenic eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, early Axumite coins tended to be inscribed in Greek. Although Greek and Roman influences are evident on the coins, Persian influences are also evident.
For much of the post-Axumite period, foreign coins and salt blocks known as "amole tchew" served as currency. During the 19th Century, Austrian Maria Theresa silver Thalers (restruck since 1780) served as currency in Ethiopia.
In 1855, the Thaler was adopted as the standard currency of Ethiopia, and was known as the Birr (dollar). In 1893, coins based around the Thaler were first issued in the name of Menelik II. This currency was divided into 20 ghershe, each of 2 Bessa. Despite this, the Maria Theresa Thaler circulated alongside its Taleri (Birr) equivalent for many years, and is still popularly used as a trade coin in that part of the world today.
The Birr was decimalised in 1931, divided into 100 matonas. Following the Italian invasion and annexation of Ethiopia in 1936, The Italian Lira was introduced, until this too was displaced by the East Africa Shilling.
Following World War II, the Birr was reintroduced in 1945 at two shillings to the Birr. This new Birr was divided into 100 santim (cents).
Today, coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 santim as well as 1 Birr are issued for use in circulation.

For Sale and Wanted
If you are interested in coins from Ethiopia please see our product index:-
Ethiopian Coins

Gold Coins
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Ethiopian Gold Coins



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