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1 Birr Arms with gear
| Issuer | National Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1977 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Birr (1976-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a young Ethiopian boy in three-quarter portrait, rendered in intaglio on a green guilloche underprint, with a vignette of zebu cattle at right. At left, a map of Ethiopia with flag; a lion's head watermark area appears as a multicolour underprint in the centre. The bank title appears in Amharic and English across the top, with denomination inscriptions in Amharic and English at centre, and the ETHIOPIA TIKDEM slogan in both scripts at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of two White-throated bee-eaters perched on branches at left, with the Tisisat (Blue Nile) waterfalls in the background rendered in fine intaglio line work on a green and multicolour guilloche underprint. The national arms (Type B, incorporating a gear wheel) appears at right, with denomination numerals and Amharic script inscriptions flanking the composition. |
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| Comments |
Ethiopia's Derg regime — the military junta that had deposed Haile Selassie in 1974 — needed new currency imagery stripped of imperial associations. This 1977 issue was part of that deliberate break, replacing the Lion of Judah symbolism that had defined Ethiopian banknotes for decades. Thomas De La Rue had printed for the imperial government as well; the relationship continued uninterrupted, whatever the politics in Addis Ababa.
P#41 is the lowest denomination of the Derg's first full note series. The 1 Birr circulated hard and survivors in clean condition are less common than the higher values.