10 Dollars - Hailé Selassié I Obverse Trial

Trial pieces for Ethiopia's 1972 commemorative dollar series were produced by the British Royal Mint, which had held the Ethiopian minting contract through much of the imperial period. This particular obverse trial in silver-plated bronze represents a stage in the approval process where planchet composition and die alignment were tested before committing to the final authorized metal — standard Royal Mint trial practice, but rarely documented for African client states of this period.

By 1972, Haile Selassie was 80 years old and less than two years from being deposed by the Derg. Coins bearing his likeness were already an anachronism in production.