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5 Santeem - Hailé Selassié I
| Issuer | Ethiopian Imperial Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944-1966 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.75 mm |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing draped bust of Emperor Haile Selassie I in military uniform, rendered in moderate relief against a flat field. The effigy depicts the Emperor with a short beard and close-cropped hair, wearing an epauleted jacket with a necktie, characteristic of his imperial portraiture. Below the bust, along the lower portion of the field, appears the Ethiopian calendar date in Ge'ez numerals. A raised rim encircles the design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Ge'ez |
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| Additional information |
Ethiopia's coinage was suspended entirely during the Italian occupation of 1936–1941, and when Haile Selassie returned from exile in London, rebuilding a functioning monetary system was among his first administrative priorities. This series, introduced in 1944, was the first coinage struck under imperial authority after liberation — produced at the Philadelphia Mint under a contract arrangement that continued through much of the issue's run.
The Ethiopian calendar's Ge'ez numeral system appears on these pieces alongside Western numerals, a dual-dating convention that occasionally confuses attribution.