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500 Thalers / Birr
| Issuer | Bank of Ethiopia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1932-1933 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | 1936 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large, intricate guilloche underprint in blue and lilac tones forming the central ornamental panel. At upper centre, the imperial lion passant vignette is repeated, flanked by radiating sunburst patterns. The four corners carry the numeral "500" in bold, with Ge'ez numerals "፭፻" also present. Decorative borders composed of interlocking geometric and floral motifs frame the entire design, with the bank name in Ge'ez script across the upper register. |
| Reverse lettering | 500 የኢትዮጵያ፡ባንክ። ፭፻ (Translation: Bank of Ethiopia 500) |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Ethiopia, established in 1931 as the first indigenous bank on the African continent, issued this series under Haile Selassie's direct patronage as part of a broader push to consolidate financial infrastructure ahead of what would prove to be a brief window of independence. Bradbury Wilkinson had long supplied high-security intaglio printing to colonial administrations across Africa, so contracting them was a practical choice — though in this case the client was an independent sovereign state, not a colonial office.
Italy's 1936 invasion effectively ended the Bank of Ethiopia's operational life. Notes of the higher denominations, including this 500 Birr, had extremely limited practical circulation given the economic scale of the country at the time, and surviving examples in any condition are genuinely uncommon.