Catalog
100 Birr / Ethiopian Dollars
| Issuer | National Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1966 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Portrait of Emperor Haile Selassie I in military uniform with epaulettes at right, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. A vignette of the rock-hewn church of Bet Giyorgis, Lalibela, set within a landscape, occupies the centre-left, flanked by an Aksumite stele at the far left. Guilloche underprint in olive and orange tones fills the field, with the issuer's name in Ge'ez script along the top border and denomination numerals in ornamental cartouches at the lower corners. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Emperor Haile Selassie I visible in the paper when held to light |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Ethiopia was still an imperial state under Haile Selassie when this note was issued, and the National Bank operated under tight palace influence — monetary policy was hardly independent in any functional sense. De La Rue handled Ethiopian printing through much of the Selassie period, producing a consistent series that would be abruptly superseded after the 1974 Derg coup rendered the imperial currency politically toxic almost overnight.
The dual denomination — Birr and Ethiopian Dollars — reflects a transitional naming convention as Ethiopia moved to align its currency terminology regionally. Pick 29 is the last issue of this denomination before that political rupture made continuity impossible.