Struck to mark fifty years since Haile Selassie's regency began in 1916 — not his coronation of 1930, a distinction the emperor was careful to observe — this issue was produced by the British Royal Mint at a moment when Ethiopia's relationship with Western institutions was deeply complicated by the unresolved humiliation of the Italian occupation. The jubilee series of which this coin forms a part was minted in limited quantities primarily for collectors and presentation purposes rather than circulation.
The .900 fineness places it within the older continental gold standard rather than the .916 crown gold tradition, a deliberate choice for the export and numismatic market.
Struck to mark fifty years since Haile Selassie's regency began in 1916 — not his coronation of 1930, a distinction the emperor was careful to observe — this issue was produced by the British Royal Mint at a moment when Ethiopia's relationship with Western institutions was deeply complicated by the unresolved humiliation of the Italian occupation. The jubilee series of which this coin forms a part was minted in limited quantities primarily for collectors and presentation purposes rather than circulation.
The .900 fineness places it within the older continental gold standard rather than the .916 crown gold tradition, a deliberate choice for the export and numismatic market.