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50 Santeem - Hailé Selassié I
| Issuer | Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944-1945 |
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| Engraver(s) | Gilroy Roberts |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Emperor Haile Selassie I facing left, engraved in a naturalistic portrait style by Gilroy Roberts, showing the Emperor in military-style uniform with tie and epaulettes. The effigy occupies the central field with no surrounding legend. The Ethiopian calendar date ፲፱፻፴፮ (EE 1936, corresponding to 1944 AD) is inscribed in Ge'ez numerals along the lower arc beneath the bust. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
This issue was struck at the Philadelphia Mint under a wartime contract — Ethiopia lacked domestic minting capacity, and the United States Mint produced the entire series on Haile Selassie's behalf following the restoration of his rule after Italian occupation ended in 1941. The coins bear Ethiopian Era dates, which accounts for the apparent 1944–1945 discrepancy with the Gregorian calendar.
The .800 fine silver specification mirrors the standard then used for many colonial and semi-colonial issues of the period, balancing durability against metal cost.