It has been a long time since I last purchased any Ethiopian banknotes, and here I have posted four notes from the current series. I bought these notes out of curiosity and also these are fairly cheap notes to collect. Ethiopian banknotes were not on my radar but when the dealers sold these in a set, I decided to get them. Whilst the signature on all the notes are the same, not all notes are printed with the same year. The 100 birr is printed with the 2023 year and the rest are printed with 2020. There are three varieties for the 100 birr notes printed with the year dates of 2020 x 1, and 2023 x 2.
This series of banknotes were first introduced on September 14, 2020. These new series of notes are all printed with enhanced security and other distinctive elements. These notes reflect the natural and historical features of Ethiopia. The 200 birr is a new denomination introduced, since the National Bank of Ethiopia was established in 1966. Other lower denominations, such as the 1 and 5 birr are not included in the series.
Ethiopia is one of the 16 landlocked countries in the African continent. The country used to have excesses to the Red Sea until Eritrea successfully gained independence in 1993.
I can say that the majority of the central banks print their banknotes with the national text on the front and then a foreign language on the back, like English, French or others. In some cases, only one national text is used on both and front, and a few print multiple texts due to the country's diversity. The Ethiopian uses a unique writing called the Ge'ez script. This is an ancient writing development in the 4th century AD. On these four notes that I have posted, both the Ge'ez script and English are printed on the front, and only the Ge'ez script on the back.
Ten Birr
Front - To the center left is the head of a lion. The Lion (Panthera leo) is the country's national animal. It represents strength, bravery, and the nation;s rich wildlife. To the center right is a man harvesting coffee beans, and a scene of a camel standing in the background. To the far left is an outline map of Ethiopia.
Governor - Dr Yinager Dessie (tenure 2019-2023)
Series - 2020
Watermark - Farmer harvesting coffee beans
Sizes - 142mm x 67mm
Back - Four adults (two women and two men) all stacking their hands on top of each other. It looks like a family of four with parents and two adults. Is this meant for unity? To the far right is a Mesob, an Ethiopian hand woven household utensil basket made of fibre of Raffia palm.
Fifty Birr
Front - Outline map of Ethiopia, a lion head and a man operating a tractor in an open field.
Governor - Dr Yinager Dessie (tenure 2019-2023)
Series - 2020
Watermark - Farm tractor
Sizes - 145mm x 70mm
Back - A factory with three chimneys. I have no info as to what type of factory this is related to.
One Hundred Birr
Front - Outline map of Ethopia, a lion head and Enqulai Gemb fortress in Gondar. This fortress was founded in the 17th century and was once the home of the Ethiopian emperors. In 1979, this site was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Governor - Dr Yinager Dessie (tenure 2019-2023)
Series - 2023
Watermark - Enqulal Gemb fortress
Sizes - 147.5mm x 71mm
Back - The image of the Sof Omar caves located in the Oromia region. This cave is also Africa's longest cave system and it stretches 15.1km long. To the right is the City gate in Harar, also another UNESCO World Heritage site in Ethiopia.
Two Hundred Birr
Front - Outline map of Ethiopia printed with rolling colour effect and a Lion head next to it. In the center is a flying dove with an olive branch in its beak. I would see this theme as - Peace.
Governor - Dr Yinager Dessie (tenure 2019-2023)
Series - 2020
Watermark - flying dove with olive branch in its beak
Sizes - 147mm x 72mm
Back - A Walia Ibex (Capricorn) grazing. The Walia Ibex is one of the very few animals that can only be found in Ethiopia. The Walia Ibex is believed to be around 500 existing in the wild and this is a protected animal in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment