Catalog
2 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1933 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 130 × 65 mm |
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| Reverse description | Entirely engraved in blue intaglio, the reverse is dominated by a central cartouche bearing the Amharic inscription የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ on a ribbon scroll, surrounded by intricate guilloche lacework and radiating geometric patterns. The denomination numeral 2 appears in all four corners, with DEUX THALERS running vertically on both sides and BANK OF ETHIOPIA inscribed along the lower border. The printer's imprint appears in small lettering along the bottom margin. |
| 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.