| Descripción del anverso |
Plain, unadorned field with no central device, surrounded by a continuous circular legend in Ge'ez script reading the full royal titulature of Menelik II. The inscription runs along the full circumference of the coin, set within a beaded border. The absence of a central effigy is characteristic of this pattern type, with the legend serving as the sole decorative and identifying element. |
| Escritura del anverso |
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| Leyenda del anverso |
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| Descripción del reverso |
The crowned Lion of Judah passant to the left, its raised right forepaw resting on a staff bearing a cross and a flowing banner. The lion stands on a ground line with the date inscribed below in Ethiopic numerals. A circular Ge'ez legend surrounds the central device, and the entire design is enclosed within a beaded border. The composition follows the traditional Imperial Ethiopian iconographic convention of the conquering lion as symbol of the ruling dynasty. |
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| Canto |
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| Casa de moneda |
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| Tirada |
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This is a pattern strike, never approved for circulation — Menelik II was simultaneously negotiating with both French and Swiss minting interests in the early 1890s, and several competing designs were submitted for evaluation before the silver birr coinage was finalized. The Paris Mint ultimately won the contract. Bronze was the obvious choice for a pattern of this weight: cheap to strike, easy to inspect for die quality, and expendable.
1892 corresponds to Ethiopian year 1884 under the Ge'ez calendar, a detail that occasionally creates confusion in attribution.