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50 Birr / Ethiopian Dollars
| Issuer | National Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1966 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of the crowned Lion of Judah passant, holding a cross-topped staff, set within a circular guilloche medallion against a finely engraved lathe-work background in blue. The Star of Solomon appears at the top centre above the lion, flanked by ornate scroll-work borders, with the denomination numeral '50' in the upper corners and Amharic lettering along the lower panel; the printer's imprint appears at the very bottom edge. |
| Reverse lettering | ፶፡ብር አምሳ፡የኢትዮጵያ፡ብር፡ THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY LIMITED (Translation: 50 Birr Fifty Ethiopian Birr) |
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| Comments |
Ethiopia's 1966 currency system ran a parallel nomenclature — "Birr" domestically, "Ethiopian Dollars" for foreign-facing transactions — a concession to international trade conventions that the imperial government maintained until the Derg abolished the dollar designation entirely after Haile Selassie's overthrow in 1974. This note was printed during the final stable decade of the empire, before the famines and political upheaval that would collapse it.
De La Rue produced the series under the Emperor's government using a single watermark as the primary security measure, modest by contemporary standards even for African central bank issues of the period.