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50 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932-1933 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Birr / Thalers (አምሳ፡ብር) |
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| Obverse description | A large intaglio vignette of a standing lion occupies the centre of the note, flanked by a circular guilloche underprint on each side; the left circle encloses a vignette of the Bank of Ethiopia building, while the right circle contains the crowned Lion of Judah bearing a cross-staff — the imperial arms. The bank name appears in English at the top and in Ge'ez (Amharic) script below, with the denomination in both French and Amharic, the place of issue 'Addis Ababa' in English and Amharic, and the bearer clause in French and Amharic across the lower left. The printer's imprint 'Bradbury, Wilkinson & C° L° Graveurs, Londres' appears at the foot of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK OF ETHIOPIA የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። CINQUANTE THALERS አምሳ፡ብር። PAYABLES SUR DEMANDE AU PORTEUR CONFORMÉMENT À LA LOI እንደ፡ሕጉ፡ አምጣው።በጠያቂው።ይከፈልዎ። Addis Ababa በአዲስ፡አበባ። (Translation: Bank of Ethiopia / Fifty Thalers / Fifty Birr / Payable on demand to the bearer in conformity with the law / Addis Ababa) |
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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.