1/2 Birr - Zauditu

Zauditu, daughter of Emperor Menelik II, was the first woman to reign as Empress of Ethiopia — and one of the first female heads of state in African history. These half birr pieces were struck at the Paris Mint (Monnaie de Paris) and bear her likeness at a time when her regent and heir-designate, Ras Tafari Makonnen, was steadily consolidating power beneath her. The X#5a.1 and X#5a.2 variants differ in minor die details, a distinction the Paris Mint's records from this contract period help substantiate.

Zauditu died in 1930, two days after Ras Tafari's forces defeated her husband in battle. Ras Tafari succeeded her as Haile Selassie I.