Ethiopia 10-CENTS (KM45.1)¶
-
Reverse MOUNTAIN NYALA
-
Obverse LION
- Composition
- Copper-zinc
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Approx. Size
- 23mm
- Area
- Africa
- Animal Class
- Mammals
- Species
- Mountain Nyala / Lion
- KM#
- 45
This is one of those coins you have to hold in your hand to really appreciate! (In other words, the pictures don't do it justice.) On the obverse we have the wonderfully ferocious Ethiopian lion, and on the reverse is a grazing Mountain Nyala. Perhaps this is the lion's dinner, but not in the Coin Zoo. (This is a family show, after all.) The Mountain Nyala is an endangered antelope species. It is found only in a very small area in the middle of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia¶
- Area
- Africa
Ethiopia is on the east side of Africa, where its 1,000,000+ sq.km takes up most of the land area of the horn. The population consists of approximately 56 million people in 40 tribes who speak around 270 languages and dialects. Most amazingly, the country was supposedly ruled by the same dynasty until 1974 -- a dynasty that according to popular legend began with the son of King Solomon of Israel! As such, Ethiopia has one of the longest histories in the world as an independent country. (And as such, it is hard to do it justice in a few words here!) By the third century, the area -- known since the fifth century BCE as the Kingdom of Aksum -- was listed as one of the four great powers of the time. (The other three were Rome, Persia, and China.) Ethiopia is the homeland of the Rastafari movement, whose spread through the world has been helped by the popularity of reggae music. In 2005, the Obelisk of Axum, a 1,700 year old 100 tonne relic was finally returned to the country after spending 70 years in Rome after being looted by Mussolini in 1937.
