The New Coins of Revolutionary Ethiopia

Coins having denominations of 50 cents, 25 cents, 10 cents, 5 cents and I cent have been issued on January 23^rd, 1978 to replace the old ones.

Fifty Cents: – The insignia on the fifty cents coin symbolizes the unity of progressive intellectuals, oppressed soldiers, industrial proletariat, farmers and women in accordance with the objectives and principles of the National Democratic Revolutionary Program (N.D.R.P). The unity of these forces under the N.D.R.P is essential to Ethiopia’s advance towards socialism, and ultimately towards corn munism.

Twenty-Five Cents: – The insignia on the twenty-five cents coin show a male and a female each holding a. tool in one hand and rising up the other clenched into a fist. Unlike the feudo-bourgeois system of the past that arrested the women in the kitchen, revolutionary Ethiopia recognizes the fact that women could equally contribute to production and to the class struggle waged by the working class.

Ten Cents: – Ethiopia is a land of natural beauty. The Mountain Nyala whose insigna appears on the ten cents coil is the only living species found nowhere on this planet except in Ethiopia. In this country, the Mt. Nyala lives comfortably in mountain forests, heathlands and grasslands of Bale, Arssi and Harar administrative regions at altitudes above 2500m. The insigna demonstrates the determination of revolutionary Ethiopia to conserve its natural resources even the rarest ones.

Five Cents: – On this is depicted a member of the peoples’ militia. The survival of Ethiopia’s independence depended on the courage and determination of this country’s masses who gallantry resisted imperialist assault in this part of Africa. The insigna on the five cents coin symbolizes the will and determination of the broad masses of revolutionary Ethiopia to continue fighting imperialism and to defend the revolution from domestic as well as foreign subversion.

One Cent: – A farmer is shown ploughing the land with the help of pair of oxen. This symbolizes the importance of agriculture in the country’s economy. In Ethiopia, over 85 % of the population live in rural areas where agriculture is the dominant source of livelihood. The nationalization of land in March 1975 and the rightful return of “Land to the tiler” is (and will remain for a long time to come) the economic foundation of revolutionary Ethiopia.

The reverse sides of all cc ins have the insignia of a lion, which besides being one of the wild life resources of Ethiopia, symbolizes the strength and revolutionary zeal of the masses