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50 Birr Revolution Anniversary
| Issuer | National Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | A large lion's head in right profile occupies the central field, rendered in bold relief. The denomination legend in Ge'ez script reading 'HAMSA BIR' (50 Birr) is inscribed above the lion's head. The lion, a traditional symbol of Ethiopian imperial and national identity, is depicted with a naturalistic mane and strong facial features. The composition is dominated by the portrait-style treatment of the lion's head, leaving the surrounding field relatively plain. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A vertical wheat stalk rises prominently at the center of the field, with a five-pointed star positioned above it, symbolizing agricultural prosperity and revolutionary ideals. To the left, an industrial factory with a chimney is depicted, representing industrial development, while a rural landscape scene appears to the right. A bilingual commemorative legend in Ge'ez and Latin scripts encircles the design, referencing the Founding Congress of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia and the tenth anniversary of the Ethiopian Revolution. The design commemorates the dual events of 1984 (Ethiopian calendar year EE1977). |
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| Additional information |
Issued to mark the tenth anniversary of the Derg regime's seizure of power in September 1974, when a military junta deposed Emperor Haile Selassie after decades of rule. The coin was struck in 1985 — EE 1977 in the Ethiopian calendar — during a period of catastrophic famine that was killing hundreds of thousands in the north while the government spent heavily on anniversary celebrations and military campaigns against Eritrean and Tigrayan insurgencies.
The Derg's commemorative coinage program relied heavily on foreign minting contracts, with pieces of this specification typically produced by the British Royal Mint or Pobjoy.