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2 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1933 |
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| Reference(s) | P#6 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | DEUX THALERS ሁለት፡ብር። የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። ADDIS ABABA አዲስ፡አበባ፡ le 1er Juin 1933 POUR BANK OF ETHIOPIA ስለ፡ኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። PAYABLES SUR DEMANDE AU PORTEUR CONFORMÉMENT A LA LOI GOUVERNEUR ፪ 2 BANK OF ETHIOPIA |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANK OF ETHIOPIA DEUX THALERS ሁለት፡ብር። የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። 2 BRADBURY WILKINSON & C° GRAVEURS NEW MALDEN SURREY ANGLETERRE |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Ethiopia, chartered in 1931 with majority shareholding held by the Ethiopian government, was the country's first wholly indigenous central bank — earlier banking in Ethiopia had been controlled by the Bank of Abyssinia, itself a concession granted to the National Bank of Egypt. This note belongs to the bank's inaugural series, issued just two years before the Italian invasion rendered the institution effectively defunct by 1936.
Bradbury Wilkinson's engraved intaglio work on this series is notably fine for a first issue from a newly established institution. The dual denomination — Thalers and Birr — reflects the coexistence of the traditional Maria Theresa Thaler in everyday trade alongside the official Birr, a distinction that mattered practically in highland markets well into the 1930s.