400 Birr International Year of the Child, Piedfort

The International Year of the Child was declared by the United Nations for 1979, and Ethiopia's participation in the commemorative coinage program was notable given the country was simultaneously enduring the brutal consolidation of Mengistu Haile Mariam's Derg regime — a government responsible for the Red Terror campaign that killed tens of thousands of Ethiopians, many of them children. The piedfort format, struck at double the normal flan thickness, was almost certainly produced for collector export rather than any domestic market.

At 62.2 grams, this is essentially a two-ounce gold piece. Mintages for Ethiopian piedfort issues of this period were extremely low.