{"product_id":"ethiopia-p-53a-10-birr-2020-u","title":"Ethiopia P-53a 10 Birr 2020 UNC—Coffee—Camel—Lion","description":"\u003cp\u003eEthiopia P-53a 10 Birr 2012 (2020), Uncirculated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVariety:\u003c\/strong\u003e only one variety of P-53 (P-53a)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Green\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFront:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLion\u003c\/strong\u003e at left\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCamel\u003c\/strong\u003e at centre\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCoffee harvest \u003c\/strong\u003eat right\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInscriptions in Ge’ez and Latin scripts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBack:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwo couples\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInscriptions in Ge’ez script\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatermark:\u003c\/strong\u003e Coffee harvester\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignature:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yinager Dessie (YD) — Governor, National Bank of Ethiopia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIssuing Bank:\u003c\/strong\u003e National Bank of Ethiopia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurrency:\u003c\/strong\u003e Birr (ISO: ETB, 1976–present)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDenomination:\u003c\/strong\u003e 10 Birr\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComposition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 142 × 67 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShape:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rectangular\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIssued:\u003c\/strong\u003e 14 September 2020\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrinter:\u003c\/strong\u003e Giesecke+Devrient, Leipzig, Germany (1852–present)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCountry:\u003c\/strong\u003e Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995–present); previously People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991); Derg military regime (1974–1987); Empire of Ethiopia (to 1974)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThree Animals, One Economy\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLion, Camel, and Coffee on the Obverse\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe obverse of this note is unusually rich in imagery for a single denomination — three distinct subjects sharing the same face. Each one earns its place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003elion\u003c\/strong\u003e at left is the Lion of Judah, Ethiopia’s most enduring national symbol, associated with the Solomonic imperial dynasty and the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. It survived the fall of the empire in 1974 and remains embedded in Ethiopian iconography, on currency and in culture worldwide through the Rastafari movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003ecamel\u003c\/strong\u003e at centre represents the lowland pastoral economy of Ethiopia’s Afar and Somali regions — a reminder that Ethiopia is not only the highland Christian kingdom of popular imagination but a vast, ecologically diverse country where camels are working animals and symbols of trade routes stretching back millennia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003ecoffee harvest\u003c\/strong\u003e at right needs little introduction. Ethiopia is the birthplace of \u003cem\u003eCoffea arabica\u003c\/em\u003e, and coffee remains the country’s most important export crop. Its presence on the 10 Birr note — as on the 5 Birr — is an acknowledgment of economic reality: coffee is what connects Ethiopia to the world’s breakfast tables.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Reverse: Two Couples\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePeople on the Banknote\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse depicts two couples — a relatively unusual choice for a banknote that might otherwise feature a landmark or landscape. The figures represent Ethiopia’s human diversity, a country of over 80 ethnic groups and as many languages. Placing ordinary people — not rulers, not monuments — on the reverse is a quiet democratic gesture, suggesting that the nation’s wealth belongs to its people as much as to its wildlife or its coffee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe 2020 Issue: Ethiopian Calendar Context\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis note carries the Ethiopian calendar year \u003cstrong\u003e2012\u003c\/strong\u003e, which corresponds to the Gregorian year \u003cstrong\u003e2020\u003c\/strong\u003e. Ethiopia uses its own calendar — the Ge’ez calendar — which runs approximately seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar and has thirteen months. The note was officially issued on \u003cstrong\u003e14 September 2020\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Ethiopian New Year’s Eve — a date chosen deliberately to mark the introduction of a new banknote series alongside a new year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Final Reflection: A Country in Three Images\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost banknotes choose one thing to say about a country. This one chooses three: the ancient symbol of imperial and spiritual authority, the working animal of the desert trade routes, and the crop that feeds the national economy. Together, lion, camel, and coffee harvest sketch a portrait of Ethiopia that is more honest than most — a country of highlands and lowlands, of history and agriculture, of symbols that outlast the regimes that created them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA solid addition for collectors of African issues, Ethiopian series, or thematic collections focused on wildlife, agriculture, or world cultures. Issued in 2020 as part of a new series, Uncirculated examples remain readily available but will not stay that way indefinitely.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51799013556535,"sku":"ET53aU","price":1.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/53o_1f1a74ef-6c0d-4276-9dc8-9972268e38ea.jpg?v=1774283120","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/ethiopia-p-53a-10-birr-2020-u","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}