Catalog
10 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Abyssinia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1915-1929 |
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| Size | 169 × 88 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF ABYSSINIA የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። DIX THALERS አስር፡ብር። PAYABLES A ADDIS-ABABA AU PORTEUR ADIS-ABABA ፀዳሊ፡ሃሃ። POUR BANK OF ABYSSINIA ቤል፡አስቀድዮ፡ ባንኩ። GOUVERNEUR አንሩ። አዲስ፡አበባ፡ሌ፡አስቀሙ፡ ወ፡ሚኒሌፉ። (Translation: Bank of Ethiopia Ten Birr Payable at Addis Ababa to the Bearer Governor) |
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| Variants | P#2a - 1915-1926 handwritten date P#2b - 1926-1928 handstamped date P#2c - 01.06.1929 printed date |
| Comments |
The Bank of Abyssinia was not an Ethiopian institution in any meaningful sovereign sense — it was established in 1905 as a concession granted to the National Bank of Egypt, itself under heavy British influence, and operated largely as a foreign commercial instrument for the first decade of its existence. Ethiopian authorities had limited control over its note-issuing function until the bank was finally nationalized and reconstituted as the Bank of Ethiopia in 1931.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced the plates for the full series. The dual denomination — Thalers and Birr — reflects the awkward coexistence of Maria Theresa Thalers, which dominated trade currency across the Horn of Africa well into the twentieth century, with the domestic birr unit.