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Ethiopian birr
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Ethiopian birr
The birr (Amharic: ብር) is the primary unit of currency in Ethiopia. It is subdivided into 100 santims.
In 1931, Emperor Haile Selassie formally requested that the international community use the name Ethiopia (as it had already been known internally for at least 1,600 years) instead of the exonym Abyssinia, and the issuing Bank of Abyssinia also became the Bank of Ethiopia. Thus, the pre-1931 currency may be referred to as the Abyssinian birr and the post-1931 currency the Ethiopian birr, although neither the country nor the currency changed beyond the name.
186 billion birr ($14.7 billion or €9.97 billion) were in circulation in 2008.
Although the Kingdom of Aksum issued copper, silver and gold coins, by the 18th and 19th century trade was facilitated by barter or the use of "primitive money", which included bolts of cloth, iron bars, beads, bracelets of gold, and cartridges. The most widely used medium of exchange was blocks of salt called amole tchew (አሞሌ), which were attested in circulation from their origins in the Danakil Depression to as far south as Lake Zway. Use of ample tchew is documented as late as 1911.
Between 1771 and 1805 the Maria Theresa thalers was accepted as a currency in Ethiopia, at first gradually and reluctantly. The thaler was known locally as the birr (literally 'silver' in Geʽez and Amharic) or talari (ታላሪ). 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. However, Rochet d'Héricourt reports that the larger part were hoarded and the few coins that remained in circulation mainly went to pay taxes to the local rulers.
As early as 1875, Menelik II, then king of Shewa, had considered issuing an Ethiopian currency. However, nothing substantial was done until the Treaty of Uccialli; an Additional Convention was negotiated by Ras Makonnen and signed on 1 October 1889 specifying that the Emperor of Ethiopia could issue a currency for his country and the coins would be struck in the King of Italy's mint. Deteriorating international relations with Italy -- leading to the First Italo-Abyssinian War -- prohibited much use of this agreement. Nonetheless, Menelik persevered in the creation of a national currency, and on 10 February 1893 issued a decree concerning a coinage, describing its design and specifying four denominations in silver and three in copper. The first coins were struck the following year, but in small quantities: only 20,000 dollars or birr were struck in 1894, and a mere 200 in 1896; no more than 51,200 coins of smaller denominations were issued. Richard Pankhurst concludes this issue "was little more than nominal", and a portion "was soon melted down for jewelry.".
A new Ethiopian coinage appeared following the Ethiopian victory in the Battle of Adowa. The new silver birr maintained the same weight and fineness as before, but the smaller denominations were reorganized: the silver half and quarter birr were kept and a silver gersh added (at first valued at 1/20 of a birr but later 1/16), while the only non-silver coin issued was a copper metonnya worth 1/100 of a birr. These were produced at the Paris Mint, which produced 815,000 birr in the first three years. By 1915 a total of 1,297,830 birr had been minted, and 19,494,308 of the smaller denominations. Despite the amount of coins issued, for the first years Menelik's currency struggled to compete with the existing use of Maris Theresa dollars. One observer noted that around 1900 the coins of Menelik circulated only in Addis Ababa and were little known beyond the capital; the first governor of the Bank of Abyssinia found that birr constituted 5% of the coins in the treasury. Pankhurst observes, "By the end of Menilek's reign the country was thus still a long way from possessing a truly national currency."
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, with a branch in Harar. The Ethiopian coinage gained acceptance only gradually, and the Bank of Abyssinia imported Maria Theresa thalers. By the time World War I broke out, the bank was still importing about 1,200,000 of these coins annually. The Bank of Abyssinia put banknotes into circulation in 1915. These notes were denominated birr in Amharic and thaler in English. The notes did not circulate widely; one contemporary reports this paper money was not accepted at the customs office or at the post office, and were used by merchants and foreigners in the capital who found coins inconvenient for larger transactions.
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Ethiopian birr
The birr (Amharic: ብር) is the primary unit of currency in Ethiopia. It is subdivided into 100 santims.
In 1931, Emperor Haile Selassie formally requested that the international community use the name Ethiopia (as it had already been known internally for at least 1,600 years) instead of the exonym Abyssinia, and the issuing Bank of Abyssinia also became the Bank of Ethiopia. Thus, the pre-1931 currency may be referred to as the Abyssinian birr and the post-1931 currency the Ethiopian birr, although neither the country nor the currency changed beyond the name.
186 billion birr ($14.7 billion or €9.97 billion) were in circulation in 2008.
Although the Kingdom of Aksum issued copper, silver and gold coins, by the 18th and 19th century trade was facilitated by barter or the use of "primitive money", which included bolts of cloth, iron bars, beads, bracelets of gold, and cartridges. The most widely used medium of exchange was blocks of salt called amole tchew (አሞሌ), which were attested in circulation from their origins in the Danakil Depression to as far south as Lake Zway. Use of ample tchew is documented as late as 1911.
Between 1771 and 1805 the Maria Theresa thalers was accepted as a currency in Ethiopia, at first gradually and reluctantly. The thaler was known locally as the birr (literally 'silver' in Geʽez and Amharic) or talari (ታላሪ). 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. However, Rochet d'Héricourt reports that the larger part were hoarded and the few coins that remained in circulation mainly went to pay taxes to the local rulers.
As early as 1875, Menelik II, then king of Shewa, had considered issuing an Ethiopian currency. However, nothing substantial was done until the Treaty of Uccialli; an Additional Convention was negotiated by Ras Makonnen and signed on 1 October 1889 specifying that the Emperor of Ethiopia could issue a currency for his country and the coins would be struck in the King of Italy's mint. Deteriorating international relations with Italy -- leading to the First Italo-Abyssinian War -- prohibited much use of this agreement. Nonetheless, Menelik persevered in the creation of a national currency, and on 10 February 1893 issued a decree concerning a coinage, describing its design and specifying four denominations in silver and three in copper. The first coins were struck the following year, but in small quantities: only 20,000 dollars or birr were struck in 1894, and a mere 200 in 1896; no more than 51,200 coins of smaller denominations were issued. Richard Pankhurst concludes this issue "was little more than nominal", and a portion "was soon melted down for jewelry.".
A new Ethiopian coinage appeared following the Ethiopian victory in the Battle of Adowa. The new silver birr maintained the same weight and fineness as before, but the smaller denominations were reorganized: the silver half and quarter birr were kept and a silver gersh added (at first valued at 1/20 of a birr but later 1/16), while the only non-silver coin issued was a copper metonnya worth 1/100 of a birr. These were produced at the Paris Mint, which produced 815,000 birr in the first three years. By 1915 a total of 1,297,830 birr had been minted, and 19,494,308 of the smaller denominations. Despite the amount of coins issued, for the first years Menelik's currency struggled to compete with the existing use of Maris Theresa dollars. One observer noted that around 1900 the coins of Menelik circulated only in Addis Ababa and were little known beyond the capital; the first governor of the Bank of Abyssinia found that birr constituted 5% of the coins in the treasury. Pankhurst observes, "By the end of Menilek's reign the country was thus still a long way from possessing a truly national currency."
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, with a branch in Harar. The Ethiopian coinage gained acceptance only gradually, and the Bank of Abyssinia imported Maria Theresa thalers. By the time World War I broke out, the bank was still importing about 1,200,000 of these coins annually. The Bank of Abyssinia put banknotes into circulation in 1915. These notes were denominated birr in Amharic and thaler in English. The notes did not circulate widely; one contemporary reports this paper money was not accepted at the customs office or at the post office, and were used by merchants and foreigners in the capital who found coins inconvenient for larger transactions.
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