Talk:Ethiopian birr/Archives/2012

Metonnya

Heh heh, 'matonas' is fine, even if a little misleading as to the pronunciation... (many such mispronunciations arise, from the twin facts that first linguists would use diacritical marks and write it eg. /mätoñ:a/, then typesetters in the old days would discard all these marks and turn it into 'matona'...!) As for "widely used", if it was only used from 1931 to 1936, and then 'santim' was used after the war, it sounds to me like it would be exceedingly rare to actually come across one! Bet it would be worth a lot more now, eh? ፈቃደ 16:30, 23 November 2005 (UTC)

Liberation

Is it really appropriate to call the transfer from Italian colonial rule to British colonial rule in 1941 "Liberation"? I'm not saying that it's definitely not -- for all I know, the British allowed local autonomy. I was just surprised to see the word used in a context that didn't involve independence. Ingrid 15:28, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it is absolutely appropriate, because for one thing Ethiopia never transferred to "British colonial rule"; it was liberated from the fascists just like France or any other country was. Most Ethiopians will vehemently argue that their country was never even under "Italian colonial rule", since the Italians were unable to do much of anything succesfully there during those 5 short years, thanks to Ethiopian patriot resistance on the part of 100% of the people. This is why Ethiopians have a slogan, "ETHIOPIA HAS NEVER BEEN COLONISED". ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 16:19, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Also, His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I entered Addis Ababa 5 years to the very day after he departed for exile and resumed his throne; it seems some British also seemed to have this idea in their heads that Ethiopia was now suddenly a British colony, and His Majesty did everything in His Power to let them know that it was no more under their authority Constitutionally than it had been under that of the Italians. So I don't know what you are getting at by suggesting that this liberation "did not involve independence". ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 16:26, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I am by no means a geography expert. I am trying to learn, mostly through Wikipedia, but also through my interest in currency. Some sources that I've read about currencies suggested that the Italian East African lira was used in Ethiopia during the Italian colonial period, and the (British) East African shilling was used from 1941-1945 when the Ethiopian birr was reintroduced. I assumed this meant that Ethiopia was colonized, but I should've checked the Ethiopia page for more details. I'm sorry if I've offended you (or anyone else), that was certainly not my intention. Do you have information about what currencies were used in Ethiopia during the Italian period (which I believe is 1936-1941) or the British/early independence period (1941-1945)? I'm interested in knowing what was official as well as what was actually used. Ingrid 18:25, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Exchange in 1936

There are two different exchange rates for 1936 that I can find. The first is in http://users.erols.com/kurrency/africa.htm, the second in http://www.globalfinancialdata.com/index.php3?action=detailedinfo&id=5541. The first states 1 lira = 5 talari (presumably meaning birr/thaler). The second states 5 lira = 1 thaler. To my mind, the later makes more sense and I've put this in the article but we need clarification.
Dove1950 20:39, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for tidying up my pre-1936 changes. I did not make a mess of it, so I have risked adding 1936-1945. Paper money was exchanged in 1936 at 3 lire per talar. The rate for silver coin was gradually raised in an effort to encourage the use of Italian paper money. I believe all the details are available in a standard Italian currency history used by collectors.

I am very confused about the currency-naming system being used. I hesitate to continue after 1945. No paper money collector would talk about Ethiopian birr banknotes in 1945. Ethiopian currency was then known in international finance as the Ethiopian dollar, never as birr. I believe it was only in October 1976 that the IMF and international currency traders began referring to birr. The 1976 currency exchange certainly marks the dollar-birr shift for banknote collectors. I would feel rather silly trying to write something about the "Ethiopian birr" of 1945.

I would appreciate it if you could point me to an explanation of the principles/guidelines for currency articles? And where is there an index of currencies and list of currencies used by each individual country over time? I can't find any.Sivasova (talk) 00:33, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

First, thanks for expanding this article. We're beginning to get the full picture now. However, could I ask you to provide a specific reference for the exchange rate(s) in 1936. Other resources have apparently got it wrong, so it would be nice to fix this once and for all. As to the nomenclature, we generally stick to local names, hence birr all the way through this article. As a banknote collector myself, I would refer to the post-1945 currency as birr since that's what written on the notes in the local language. I think we make it pretty clear that the name dollar was used in English but feel free to further clarify this if you think it needs it. As to an index, there doesn't really seem to be one available on the net but there are two websites, [1] and [2], which we link most currency articles to and which provide a lot of information. However, these seem to have got Ethiopia wrong, so they may not help you that much.
Dove1950 (talk) 15:08, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

I finally located some old notes I had made about Ethiopian currency, and I've used them to improve the section on the birr of 1855-1936. I have not found any suitable material covering the 1936-1941 period. I understand there is a standard reference work used by Italian coin collectors that gives details, but I have never seen it. I have seen different rates given for the exchange rates used by the Italians. I have seen the sliding figures confirmed in Toutes les Monnaies du Monde by René Sédillot (Paris,1955), a reference work that I have found to be very reliable.

Sédillot also writes about the amoleh, calling it the amulet or annelet or amolé, and describing it as a small block/ingot of white salt, 20-25 cm long and weighing around 700 grams. One talari was worth (presumably in the early 19th century) 5-6 amolé at Addis-Ababa and 7-8 amolé at Harrar. (I did not know how and where to include this information.)Sivasova (talk) 01:43, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Bank of Abyssinia -> Bank of Ethiopia

From what I've read, the Bank of Abyssinia was not renamed, but bought by Emperor Haile Selassie & reorganized as the Bank of Ethiopia. In fact, in an interview with Sylvia Pankhurst, he is quoted explicitly as having done so:

Question: "What do you regard as the most important achievements of your reign?" Answer: "The construction of schools, hospitals, roads; financial reforms, the purchase of the Bank of Abyssinia and its transformation into a State bank; the fight against slavery and the establishment of a school for freed slaves." (Richard Pankhurst, Economy of Ethiopia, p. 29)

However, if we edit this article to reflect this fact, then we are faced with the question whether Haile Selassie requested that his country be referred to as Ethiopia & not Abyssinia -- & if not, when did this change in usage take place? -- llywrch 20:32, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

His Majesty specifically mentions this in Chapter 12 of His Autobiography - My Life & Ethiopia's Progress, vol. I. He says he bought and renamed it in 1928. It was around this time that he first became crowned as Negus, and also roughly around this time that he formally requested that his country, which had already been domestically referred to as "Ethiopia" for centuries, be known by that name instead of "Abyssinia" in Western countries. (In the same general time period, the monarchs of Persia -> Iran and Siam -> Thailand made similar requests, though I can't say off hand in what order.) ፈቃደ (ውይይት) 21:59, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Well, that doesn't answer my question -- although obviously we agree on many of the details. My question was since it appears that the name of the currency was not changed because the name of the bank was changed, then we can write that up until a certain date the Birr was known as the "Abyssinian dollar", when the Emperor requested that the name of his country be known as "Ethiopia", & the currency was then officially known as the "Ethiopian Dollar" -- & that there is verifiable proof for this statement. (If there isn't verifiable proof for this at hand, I for one would be happy to simply drop all mention of the Abyssinian Dollar for the time being & avoid the problem.) -- llywrch 21:47, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Talari?

What are these things, which redirect here: Ethiopian talari and Abyssinian talari? Kappa 02:03, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

Abyssinian = Ethiopian, and "Talari," means "Thaler." The Maria Theresa Silver Thaler was often used in Ethiopia during the 19th century. — ዮም | (Yom) | Talk • contribs • Ethiopia 04:58, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

No More 5's in 2006 / Pictures

I have taken trips to Ethiopia in 2006 and 2007 and both times i have held new crispy 5 birr bills. Also i have denominations of every bill and coin that can be scanned if needed. email 71.172.191.187 18:26, 17 July 2007 (UTC) asten@astenb.com if needed

What date is on the bill, they might be from an earlier print, but held in storage for later usage. Enlil Ninlil (talk) 04:41, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

"Werk"?

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. What was the value of this "werk"? Obviously more than a birr since it was gold, but how much more? Nik42 (talk) 23:14, 5 November 2008 (UTC)