The birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the
official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English
as well. In 1931, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile
Selassie I, formally requested that the international community use the name
Ethiopia instead of Abyssinia, and the issuing Bank of Abyssinia also became
the Bank of Ethiopia. Thus, the pre-1931 currency could be considered the
Abyssinian birr and the post-1931 currency the Ethiopian birr, although it
was the same country and the same currency before and after.
186 billion birr were in circulation in 2008.
History = First birr, 1855–1936 =
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Maria Theresa thalers and blocks of salt
called "amole tchew" served as currency in Ethiopia. The thaler was known
locally as the Birr or ታላሪ taleri. The Maria Theresa thaler was officially
adopted as the standard coin in 1855, although the Indian rupee and the
Mexican dollar were also used in foreign trade.
The talari became the standard unit on 9 February 1893 and 200,000 dollars were
produced at the Paris Mint in 1894 for Menelik II. The talari, equivalent to
the Maria Theresa thaler, was divided into 20 ghersh or 40 bessa.
A new Ethiopian coinage appeared about 1903. The new silver birr maintained the
same weight and fineness as the old, but there was now a quarter-birr and a
silver ghersh, the latter 1/16 the weight of the birr. The money of account
now became 1 birr' = 16 ghersh = 32 bessa.
The Bank of Abyssinia was established in 1905 by Emperor Menelik and the European
banking group behind the National Bank of Egypt; the bank was officially
inaugurated by Menelik on 15 February 1906. The Ethiopian coinage gained
acceptance only gradually, and Bank of Abyssinia imported Maria Theresa
thalers. By the time World War One broke out, the bank was still importing about
1,200,000 of these coins annually. Bank of Abyssinia put banknotes into
circulation in 1915. These notes were denominated birr in Amharic and thaler
in English. They were used by merchants and by foreigners but were not initially
accepted generally. However, Note circulation increased considerably after
1925. Emperor Haile Selassie bought out the
Bank of Abyssinia in 1931 for £235,000 in order to make it a purely Ethiopian
institution. It was reorganized as Bank of Ethiopia. At the same time, the
currency was decimalized and token nickel and copper coins were introduced,
the birr becoming equal to 100 metonnyas. The text on the bank's notes
appeared in Amharic and French. By the mid-1930s circulation consisted
chiefly of Maria Theresa and Menelik talari.
= Italian lira, 1936–41 = Not long after the Italian occupation
and the transformation of Ethiopia into Italian East Africa, the Italian lira
was introduced and Ethiopian banknotes were withdrawn from circulation at 3
lire per talar. In an effort to increase the use of Italian paper money, the
exchange rate for silver coin was raised to 4.50 lire, then to 5.00, and
eventually, in stages, to 13.50. Still, many people kept their Ethiopian coins
and banknotes. Regular Italian coins and banknotes of
Banca d'Italia circulated after 15 July 1936. Special notes with a red overprint
were authorized for Italian East Africa on 12 September 1938, and a large
quantity was printed. It is not clear, however, when, where, and to what extent
these special notes actually circulated. = East African shilling, 1941–45 =
During the East African Campaign of 1941, British forces brought with them
Indian, Egyptian, British, and British East African currency, and all were
received in official payments. Italian coins and notes of up to 50 lire were
allowed to continue in circulation to serve as small change; higher
denominations were withdrawn at a rate of 24 lire per shilling. Maria Theresa
thalers were allowed to circulate with a value of 1s 10½d. The East African
shilling became the money of account on 1 July 1942; it eventually became the
sole legal tender and remained so until 1945.
Regular notes of the East African Currency Board were used for circulation
in Ethiopia. = Second birr, 1945– =
The birr was reintroduced in 1945 at a rate of 1 birr = 2 shillings. The name
Ethiopian dollar was used in the English text on the banknotes. It was divided
into 100 santim. The name birr became the official name, used in all
languages, in 1976. Coins
= First birr = Between 1894 and 1897 copper coins were
introduced in denominations of 1⁄100 and 1⁄32 birr, together with silver 1
ghersh, ⅛, ¼, ½ and 1 birr, and gold ¼, ½ and 1 werk. In 1931, a new series of
coins was introduced consisting of copper 1 and 5 metonnyas, and nickel 10,
20 and 50 metonnyas. = Second birr =
In 1944, coins were reintroduced, with copper 1, 5, 10 and 25 santim and silver
50 santim. A second series was issued in 1977. It consisted of aluminium 1
santim, brass 5 and 10 santim, and cupro-nickel 25 and 50 santim. The most
recent issues are: 5 santim EE1998
10 santim EE1996 25 santim EE1996
50 santim EE1996 1 Birr EE2003
The dates, like the rest of the legend, appear in Amharic, the official language
of Ethiopia. = Identification and appearance =
Besides having almost all the legends in Amharic, there are two features which
help to immediately identify an Ethiopian birr. Early dated coins, those
dated before EE1969, feature a crowned rampant lion holding a cross. This can
be seen in the picture to the right. Later dated coins, those dated EE1969 or
after, picture the head of a roaring lion, with a flowing mane.
Coins were struck at several mints, including Paris, Berlin, and Addis
Ababa. Coins without mintmarks were generally struck at Addis Ababa. The
coins struck at Paris have either the mintmark "A" with the cornucopia and
fasces privy marks, or the cornucopia and torch privy marks without the "A".
Banknotes = First birr =
The Bank of Abyssinia introduced banknotes for 5, 10, 100 and 500 talari
in 1915. 280,000 talari worth of notes was printed. The text on the notes was
in Amharic and French. A 50-talari note was added in 1929, by which time over
1.5 million talari in notes were circulating.
The Bank of Ethiopia issued notes in 1932 in denominations of 5, 10, 50, 100
and 500 talari. A 2-talari note dated 1 June 1933 was issued in honour of the
Imperial couple. By the end of 1934, some 3.3 million talari in notes were
circulating. = Second birr =
On 23 July 1945, notes were introduced by the State Bank of Ethiopia in
denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 birr. The National Bank of Ethiopia
was established by imperial proclamation 207 of 27 July 1963, and began operation
on 1 January 1964. The National Bank of Ethiopia took over note production in
1966 and issued all denominations except for the 500 birr. Banknotes have been
issued in the following series: See also
Economy of Ethiopia References
External links A gallery of the banknotes of Ethiopia