1 Birr - Menelik II Pattern

This 1902 pattern was struck in anticipation of a currency reform that would standardize Ethiopian coinage under Menelik II, who had already consolidated imperial authority following the decisive defeat of the Italian army at Adwa in 1896. The Adwa victory gave Menelik both the political standing and, critically, the financial leverage — including indemnity payments and foreign loans — to pursue an independent monetary program rather than rely on the Maria Theresa Thaler that had dominated Ethiopian trade for generations.

White metal patterns of this type were almost certainly struck in Paris or Vienna for presentation and approval purposes, never intended for circulation.