Catalog
10 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932-1935 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Birr / Thaler (decimalized, 1931-1936) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF ETHIOPIA የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። DIX THALERS አስር፡ብር። PAYABLES SUR DEMANDE AU PORTEUR CONFORMEMENT A LA LOI. እንደሕጉ፡ እምልዉ፡በጠያቂ፡ሂዜ፡የሚሸረፈልዉ። ADDIS ABABA በአዲስ፡አበባ። POUR BANK OF ETHIOPIA በልኤ፡አኢትዮጵያ፡ባንያ። Bradbury Wilkinson & Cᵒ Lᵗᵈ Graveurs Londres (Translation: Bank of Ethiopia Ten Thalers/Birr, payable on demand to the bearer in accordance with the law, Addis Ababa, for Bank of Ethiopia) |
| Reverse description | Elaborate geometric and foliate intaglio design in green and purple tones, built around a large central guilloche medallion with radiating engine-turned patterns. A rectangular panel at centre bears the bank name in Amharic Ge'ez script, flanked on each side by numerals '10' within ornate cartouches. Palm-frond vignettes radiate from the lateral margins, and the printer's imprint appears at the foot. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Bank of Ethiopia, established in 1931 as the first indigenous bank on the continent owned and operated by an African government, issued this series in a narrow window before the Italian invasion of October 1935. Haile Selassie had pushed hard for monetary independence from the Bank of Egypt's predecessor arrangements, and this note series was a direct product of that effort — printed in London by Bradbury Wilkinson, whose intaglio security work was then standard for colonial and post-colonial issuers across Africa and Asia.
When Italian forces occupied Addis Ababa in 1936, remaining stocks were either destroyed or seized. Notes that had circulated were suppressed in favor of the Italian East African lira. Surviving examples of this series are accordingly scarce, particularly in any grade above heavily used.