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1/4 Birr - Menelik II
| Issuer | Empire of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1897 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed, bearded effigy of Emperor Menelik II facing right, wearing an elaborately decorated traditional Ethiopian crown and a draped imperial mantle. The portrait, engraved by Jean Lagrange in a refined Western medallic style, occupies the central field with fine detail rendered in the hair, beard, and regalia. A circular Ge'ez legend surrounds the effigy, reading 'His Imperial Majesty Menelik, King of Kings of Ethiopia.' The rim is defined by a beaded border running the full circumference of the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ደግማዊ ፡ ምኒልክ ፡ ንጉሠ ፡ ነገሥት ፡ ዘኢትዮጵያ። (Translation: His Imperial Majesty Menelik, King of Kings of Ethiopia) |
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| Additional information |
Ethiopia's 1897 coinage was struck at the Paris Mint following Menelik II's decisive victory over Italian forces at the Battle of Adwa the previous year — the most significant defeat of a European colonial army by an African nation in the nineteenth century. The coins were among the first modern machine-struck issues for the empire, ordered as part of a broader effort to establish Ethiopia as a sovereign state capable of engaging on equal terms with European powers.
The Ge'ez calendar date EE1889 appears on the coin rather than the Gregorian 1897, a distinction that trips up collectors unfamiliar with the seven-to-eight-year offset between the two systems.