Ethiopian birr
| Ethiopian birr | |
|---|---|
Reverse of an 1 Ethiopian birr note,
depicting the Tisisat waterfalls. |
|
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | ETB |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | santim |
| Symbol | Br (Latin Script) ብር (Ethiopic Script) |
| Banknotes | 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 birr |
| Coins | 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 santim; 1 Birr |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |
 Ethiopia
|
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | National Bank of Ethiopia |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 8% July 2013 |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2008 est. |
The birr (Amharic: ብር?) is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English as well.
In 1931, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, formally requested that the international community use the name Ethiopia (as it had already been known internally for at least 1600 years) instead of 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).
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Maria Theresa thalers and blocks of salt called "amole tchew" (አሞሌ ) served as currency in Ethiopia. The thaler was known locally as the Birr (literally meaning "silver" in Ge'ez and Amharic) or ታላሪ taleri. The Maria Theresa thaler was officially adopted as the standard coin in 1855, although the Indian rupee and the Mexican dollar were also used in foreign trade.
The talari (thaler, dollar, birr) became the standard unit on 9 February 1893 and 200,000 dollars were produced at the Paris Mint in 1894 for Menelik II. The talari, equivalent to the Maria Theresa thaler, was divided into 20 ghersh (also guerche or gersh, the name coming from the Ottoman Empire's qirsh) or 40 bessa (a small copper coin).
A new Ethiopian coinage appeared about 1903. The new silver birr maintained the same weight and fineness as the old, but there was now a quarter-birr and a silver ghersh, the latter 1/16 the weight of the birr. The money of account now became 1 birr' = 16 ghersh = 32 bessa.
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Wikipedia