Released 7/23/2000

1897 Ethiopia .835 silver 1 bir, struck by the Paris mint. Obverse has the profile of Menelik II (1844-1913), emperor of Ethiopia (1889-1909), who transformed the country from a collection of semi-independent states into a united nation. As ruler (1865-89) of the kingdom of Shoa, in central Ethiopia, he conquered the Oromo people to the south and annexed their land. When he succeeded John IV as emperor in 1889, he united Shoa with the northern kingdoms of Tigray and Amhara, and signed the Treaty of Wichale with Italy. A disagreement over the interpretation of the treaty led to a war in which Menelik's forces defeated an Italian army at Âdwa (1896). The European powers then recognized Ethiopian independence. During his reign he suppressed the Ethiopian slave trade, curbed the feudal nobility, and founded the city of Addis Ababa. Ethiopia's first modern national coins were those of the Emperor Menelik II in 1894. The obverse reads in Amharic, "Menelik II, King of kings of Ethiopia". The reverse reads, "Conquering lion of the tribe of Judah." The date is below the bust. The denomination is written in exergue along with the mint mark A of Paris and the cornucopia and torch privy marks. Ethiopia's modern coins are dated by the Ethiopian calendar (7 to 8 years before ours - 1887EE = 1894). The last date on Menelik's coins is 1895EE (1903) even though coins were made as late as 1928 with that same date.