Matonya Coin of Menelik II

What it is

This is a copper coin, a 1 matonya piece (1/100 birr), minted in 1897 at the Paris Mint and engraved by Jean Lagrange. The obverse shows a bearded man in a tall ornate crown facing right, with Ethiopian script naming him as Emperor. The reverse carries further Ge'ez inscriptions, a date in the Ethiopian calendar, and decorative stars. It was struck in a run of 500,000 copies.

Why it matters

Menelik II introduced a new national coinage as part of his effort to modernise and centralise Ethiopia's economy and state institutions. Having coins struck abroad with his own portrait and Ge'ez script was also a statement of sovereignty, showing Ethiopia as an independent state with its own currency at a time when European powers were colonising much of Africa.

Look closer

• What can you read or notice in the script and symbols on each side?
• Why might Menelik have chosen to have the coins minted in Paris rather than Ethiopia?
• What does a coin like this tell us about a ruler's priorities beyond its monetary value?