Catalog
50 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932-1933 |
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| Reference(s) | P#9 |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large fan-shaped guilloche medallion radiating outward from a central rosette, with an elaborate interlaced geometric underprint in green and violet tones. The numeral '50' is set within the central medallion, and decorative floral rosettes are arranged symmetrically in the lower corners. Palm fronds frame both upper corners of the design, and Amharic lettering appears on ribbons along the upper left and upper right margins. The printer's imprint 'Bradbury, Wilkinson & C° L° Engravers, London' is present at the foot. |
| Reverse lettering | አምሳ፡ብር። የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። ፶ (Translation: Fifty Birr / Bank of Ethiopia / 50) |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Ethiopia, established in 1931, was Africa's first fully indigenous central bank — not a European colonial institution operating on the continent, but a bank founded under Ethiopian authority and capitalized in part by the imperial government. This note belongs to the bank's inaugural series, printed by Bradbury Wilkinson before Italy's 1936 invasion effectively terminated the institution's operations. The entire series had a short window of legitimate circulation.
After the Italian occupation, surviving stock was either destroyed or disappeared into collections. Notes from this series that show genuine circulation are uncommon; many survivors are in higher grades precisely because the political disruption cut circulation short.