Ethiopian Birr - Banknotes - Second Birr

Second Birr

On 23 July 1945, notes were introduced by the State Bank of Ethiopia in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 birr. The National Bank of Ethiopia was established by imperial proclamation 207 of 27 July 1963 and began operation on 1 January 1964. The National Bank of Ethiopia took over note production in 1966 and issued all denominations except for the 500 birr. Banknotes have been issued in the following series:

Series Denominations
1945 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 birr
1961 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 birr
1966 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 birr
1976 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 birr
1991 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 birr
1997 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 birr
2003 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 birr
2004 50, 100 birr
2006 1, 10, 50, 100 birr.
Banknotes of the Ethiopian birr
Image Value Obverse Reverse
1 birr Boy Tisisat waterfalls (Blue Nile)
5 birr Coffee harvest Kudu and lynx
10 birr Basket weaver Tractor
50 birr Plowing Enqulal Gemb fortress (Gondar)
100 birr Plowing Man, microscope


Ethiopian birr per US$ 2005–2009
Year Lowest ↓ Highest ↑ Average
Date Rate Date Rate Rate
2005 25 Apr 8.0117 30 Okt 8.4240 8.3100
2006 12 Jun 8.3940 7 Sep 9.1739 8.7510
2007 12 Feb 9.0670 19 Okt 9.6085 9.3921
2008 17 Apr 9.6715 1 Dec 10.7701 9.9167
2009 14 Jul 11.0763 15 Mar 12.9891


Ethiopian birr per Euro 2005–2009
Year Lowest ↓ Highest ↑ Average
Date Rate Date Rate Rate
2005 17 Dec 10.0804 3 Feb 11.6821 10.5727
2006 12 Jan 10.5791 7 Dec 11.9760 10.7092
2007 25 Jan 12.0685 1 Dec 13.7500 12.6872
2008 2 Dec 12.8790 1 Dec 14.6978 13.9921
2009 6 Jun 17.5814 13 Mar 19.7425


Current ETB exchange rates
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Read more about this topic:  Ethiopian Birr, Banknotes