What is ETB currency
The birr (Amharic: ብር) is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. It is subdivided into 100 santim.
In 1931, Emperor Haile Selassie I formally requested that the international community use the name Ethiopia (as it had already been known internally for at least 1,600 years[2]) instead of the exonym 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 ($14.7 billion or €9.97 billion).
ETB Coins
Between 1894 and 1897 copper coins were introduced in denominations of 1⁄100 and 1⁄32 birr, together with silver 1 ghersh, 1⁄8, 1⁄4, 1⁄2 and 1 birr, and gold 1⁄4, 1⁄2 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.
In 1944 (EE1936 in the Ethiopian calendar), coins were reintroduced, with copper 1, 5, 10 and 25 santim and silver 50 santim. A second series was issued in 1977 (EE1969). It consisted of aluminium 1 santim, brass 5 and 10 santim, cupro-nickel 25 and 50 santim, and bi-metallic 1 birr. The most recent issues are:
5 santim 2006 (EE1998)
10 santim 2004 (EE1996)
25 santim 2016 (EE2008; also called “semuni”)
50 santim 2016 (EE2008)
1 Birr 2016 (EE2008; bi-metallic)
The dates, like the rest of the legend, appear in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia.
Besides having almost all the legends in Amharic, there are two features that help to immediately identify an Ethiopian birr. Early dated coins, those dated before 1977 (EE1969), feature a crowned rampant lion holding a cross. This can be seen in the adjacent picture. Later dated coins, those dated 1977 (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”.
ETB Banknotes
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.
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:
On 14 September 2020, Ethiopia announced the introduction of new banknotes of 10, 50, 100, and 200 birr, with the latter being issued into circulation to meet the needs of issuing a high denomination note to tackle inflation. Older issues of 10, 50, and 100 birr notes were demonetized in December. The federal government reported that over 113 billion birr equivalent to 3.6 billion $ remains hidden from the banks. The federal government also believes this money is being used as a catalyst to the current instability in Ethiopia. In just a month, Ethiopian banks gained 14 billion birr, around 500 million dollars into their system which is expected to increase as we head towards the end of 2020. The measure, announced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, was reported as a preventative measure against hoarding, counterfeit and other corruption affecting the economic session. He also noted that the country spent 3.7 billion birr ($101.2 million) to print the new banknotes. Companies and individuals can cash only up to 1.5 million birr ($41,000). The cash withdrawal from banks should also not exceed 100,000 birrs ($2,737). The old 5-birr notes, while they will remain legal tender, will be replaced with a coin.