The most interesting edge I have found on a coin.

Ethiopia

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is located in the north-eastern part of Africa commonly known as the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by the Sudan in the west, Somalia and Djibouti in the east, Eritrea in the north and Kenya in the south. The country covers 1,112,000 square kilometres (472,000 sq. miles).

From the north and running down the centre are the Abyssinian highlands. To the west of the chain the land drops to the grasslands of Sudan, to the east to the deserts of the Afar. South of Addis Ababa, the land is dominated by the Rift Valley Lakes.

(World map depicting Ethiopia on the continent of Africa. From Wikipedia)

With a population of about 110.14 million, Ethiopia represents a melting pot of ancient cultures with Middle Eastern and African cultures evident in the religious, ethnic and language composition of its Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic and Nilotic peoples. The Ethiopian peoples comprise about eighty nationalities of which the Amhara and the Oromo constitute the majority, with about 60 percent of the total population.

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. What are believed to be the oldest remains of a human ancestor ever found, which have been dated as being some five million years old, were discovered in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia.

The Greek historian Herodotus, of the fifth century BC, describes ancient Ethiopia in his writings, while the Old Testament books 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles records the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Jerusalem where “she proved Solomon with hard questions”. Legend asserts that King Menelik – the founder of the Ethiopian Empire – was the son of the Queen and Solomon.

I’ll cover the more recent history of Ethiopia in another post.

Obverse

The obverse contains the left facing bust of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974.

At the bottom is the date in Ge’ez script, which reads: ፲፱፻፴፮.

This translates to: 10 9 100 30 6 (meaning (10+9)*100+30+6 = 1936 in the Ethiopian calendar.

The Ethiopian calendar is quite similar to the Julian calendar, which was the predecessor to the Gregorian calendar most countries use today. It is a solar calendar, based on the time it takes Earth to make 1 full orbit around the Sun, also known as a tropical year or solar year.

A year in the Ethiopian calendar is 13 months long, with 12 months of 30 days each. The last month has 5 days in a common year and 6 days during leap year. Like in the Julian calendar, a leap year in the Ethiopian calendar happens every 4 years without exception.

The main point of difference lies in the calculation of the date of the birth of Jesus, which means that the Ethiopian calendar is 7 to 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. While most Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25, Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on January 7 along with many Orthodox Christian churches around the world. Thus, 1936 on the Ethiopian calendar, is 1944 in the Gregorian calendar.

Reverse

The reverse contains a “Crowned lion of Judah right, right foreleg raised holding ribboned cross”. Below is the value in Ge’ez script: ሃያ:አምስት:ሳንቲም – which means Twenty-five Santeem (haya āmisiti sanitīmi).

The legend of Ethiopian emperors being descended from King Solomon gives the link to the lion of Judah as an emblem of Ethiopia.

Edge

One of the things I find most fascinating about this coin is the edge. Numista describes the edge as “Smooth notches with reeded peaks”. The raised sections visible either side of the coin make holding this coin quite a unique tactile experience.

There are two versions of this coin. “Type A” has 4 grooves with flat scallops between. The right character of the date is on a scallop. “Type B” has 3 grooves with scallops which are rounded inside. The rightmost character of the date is between two scallops. This example is a Type B.