Ethiopia P-47h 5 Birr 2017 UNC—Coffee's Birthplace—Lion of Judah—Kudu Antelope

Ethiopia P-47h 5 Birr 2009 (2017), Uncirculated. Color: Multicolor Variety: P-47h — final variety of the series; signature of Governor Dubale Jale (DA on note); serial prefixes CX–EI; Ethiopian calendar 1989–2009 (Gregorian 1997–2017) Front: Man picking coffee beans at centre Coffee plant at right Lion’s head at centre left Inscriptions in Ge’ez and Latin scripts Back: Kudu (large spiral-horned antelope) Caracal (sleek wild cat with long black-tufted ears, famous for leaping to snatch birds mid-flight) Semien Mountains Inscriptions in Ge’ez script Watermark: “NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA” repeated throughout (visible under backlight) Security Thread: Segmented foil security thread Signature: Dubale Jale (DA) — Governor, National Bank of Ethiopia Serial Number Prefix: CX–EI (variety h) Issuing Bank: National Bank of Ethiopia Currency: Birr (ISO: ETB, 1976–present) Denomination: 5 Birr Composition: Paper Size: 140 × 65 mm Shape: Rectangular Printers: De La Rue, London, UK (1821–present); Giesecke+Devrient, Leipzig, Germany (1852–present) Country: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995–present); previously People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991); Derg military regime (1974–1987); Empire of Ethiopia (to 1974) Coffee: Ethiopia’s Gift to the World The Crop on the Banknote The figure on the obverse is not a generic agricultural worker — he is picking coffee, and that specificity matters enormously. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. The wild coffee plant (Coffea arabica) originated in the highland forests of the Kaffa region, and Ethiopians have been harvesting, roasting, and brewing it for well over a thousand years. The country remains one of the world’s top coffee producers, and coffee accounts for a substantial share of Ethiopia’s export earnings. To put a coffee picker on the national currency is to acknowledge, plainly, what keeps the economy alive. The coffee plant depicted to the right of the figure is botanically accurate — the red cherries, the dark leaves. For a collector, it is a small reminder that the best banknote designs are not abstract: they are portraits of a country’s actual life. The Lion of Judah Symbol of Empire and Nation The lion’s head at centre left is a direct reference to the Lion of Judah, one of Ethiopia’s most enduring national symbols. Under Emperor Haile Selassie, the Lion of Judah appeared on the imperial flag and coat of arms, representing the Solomonic dynasty’s claimed descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The symbol survived the fall of the empire in 1974 and persists in Ethiopian iconography — on currency, in art, and in the global consciousness through the Rastafari movement, which regards Haile Selassie as a messianic figure. The Reverse: Wildlife of the Ethiopian Highlands Kudu, Caracal, and the Semien Mountains The reverse brings together two of Ethiopia’s most striking wild animals against the backdrop of the Semien Mountains — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa’s most dramatic highland landscapes, with peaks exceeding 4,500 metres. The Greater Kudu is one of Africa’s most elegant antelopes, recognizable by the male’s long spiral horns. The caracal — a medium-sized wild cat with distinctive tufted ears — ranges across Africa and into Asia, and is known for its extraordinary leaping ability. Their pairing on this note reflects Ethiopia’s remarkable biodiversity: the country is home to more endemic species than almost any other in Africa, a consequence of its varied altitude, climate, and geography. A Final Reflection: The Weight of a Coffee Cherry A 5 Birr note is not worth much in the market. But the coffee picker on its face represents an industry that feeds millions, a plant that changed the world’s mornings, and a country old enough to have given humanity one of its most beloved rituals. Ethiopia has been a civilization for three thousand years. It was never colonized — one of only two African nations to resist European partition. It has its own alphabet, its own calendar, its own church. All of that history is compressed, quietly, into a small rectangle of paper with a man and a coffee plant on the front. A solid addition for collectors of African issues, Ethiopian series, or agricultural and wildlife-themed banknotes. Uncirculated examples of the final h variety are increasingly scarce as the design has been retired.

Ethiopia P-47h 5 Birr 2017 UNC—Coffee's Birthplace—Lion of Judah—Kudu Antelope

Ethiopia P-47h 5 Birr 2009 (2017), Uncirculated.

  • Color: Multicolor
  • Variety: P-47h — final variety of the series; signature of Governor Dubale Jale (DA on note); serial prefixes CX–EI; Ethiopian calendar 1989–2009 (Gregorian 1997–2017)
  • Front:
    • Man picking coffee beans at centre
    • Coffee plant at right
    • Lion’s head at centre left
    • Inscriptions in Ge’ez and Latin scripts
  • Back:
    • Kudu (large spiral-horned antelope)
    • Caracal (sleek wild cat with long black-tufted ears, famous for leaping to snatch birds mid-flight)
    • Semien Mountains
    • Inscriptions in Ge’ez script
  • Watermark: “NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA” repeated throughout (visible under backlight)
  • Security Thread: Segmented foil security thread
  • Signature: Dubale Jale (DA) — Governor, National Bank of Ethiopia
  • Serial Number Prefix: CX–EI (variety h)
  • Issuing Bank: National Bank of Ethiopia
  • Currency: Birr (ISO: ETB, 1976–present)
  • Denomination: 5 Birr
  • Composition: Paper
  • Size: 140 × 65 mm
  • Shape: Rectangular
  • Printers: De La Rue, London, UK (1821–present); Giesecke+Devrient, Leipzig, Germany (1852–present)
  • Country: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995–present); previously People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991); Derg military regime (1974–1987); Empire of Ethiopia (to 1974)

Coffee: Ethiopia’s Gift to the World

The Crop on the Banknote

The figure on the obverse is not a generic agricultural worker — he is picking coffee, and that specificity matters enormously. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. The wild coffee plant (Coffea arabica) originated in the highland forests of the Kaffa region, and Ethiopians have been harvesting, roasting, and brewing it for well over a thousand years. The country remains one of the world’s top coffee producers, and coffee accounts for a substantial share of Ethiopia’s export earnings. To put a coffee picker on the national currency is to acknowledge, plainly, what keeps the economy alive.

The coffee plant depicted to the right of the figure is botanically accurate — the red cherries, the dark leaves. For a collector, it is a small reminder that the best banknote designs are not abstract: they are portraits of a country’s actual life.

The Lion of Judah

Symbol of Empire and Nation

The lion’s head at centre left is a direct reference to the Lion of Judah, one of Ethiopia’s most enduring national symbols. Under Emperor Haile Selassie, the Lion of Judah appeared on the imperial flag and coat of arms, representing the Solomonic dynasty’s claimed descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The symbol survived the fall of the empire in 1974 and persists in Ethiopian iconography — on currency, in art, and in the global consciousness through the Rastafari movement, which regards Haile Selassie as a messianic figure.

The Reverse: Wildlife of the Ethiopian Highlands

Kudu, Caracal, and the Semien Mountains

The reverse brings together two of Ethiopia’s most striking wild animals against the backdrop of the Semien Mountains — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa’s most dramatic highland landscapes, with peaks exceeding 4,500 metres.

The Greater Kudu is one of Africa’s most elegant antelopes, recognizable by the male’s long spiral horns. The caracal — a medium-sized wild cat with distinctive tufted ears — ranges across Africa and into Asia, and is known for its extraordinary leaping ability. Their pairing on this note reflects Ethiopia’s remarkable biodiversity: the country is home to more endemic species than almost any other in Africa, a consequence of its varied altitude, climate, and geography.

A Final Reflection: The Weight of a Coffee Cherry

A 5 Birr note is not worth much in the market. But the coffee picker on its face represents an industry that feeds millions, a plant that changed the world’s mornings, and a country old enough to have given humanity one of its most beloved rituals. Ethiopia has been a civilization for three thousand years. It was never colonized — one of only two African nations to resist European partition. It has its own alphabet, its own calendar, its own church. All of that history is compressed, quietly, into a small rectangle of paper with a man and a coffee plant on the front.

A solid addition for collectors of African issues, Ethiopian series, or agricultural and wildlife-themed banknotes. Uncirculated examples of the final h variety are increasingly scarce as the design has been retired.

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Banknote Grading Guide

Grades reflect overall market perception, not rigid defect counting alone. Notes sold from grouped inventory may vary slightly within grade. Individual defects such as foxing, writing, or small marks may be reflected in the grade rather than always itemized separately. Buyers may return any note within 14 days of receipt; satisfaction is guaranteed.

  • UNC (Uncirculated ~60-70): folds none; handling none to trace; paper crisp; corners sharp; splits/tears none; missing pieces none; surface clean; impressions (counting-band or security-thread half-moon) permitted if there is no paper break, fiber disturbance, or ink/design loss.
  • AU/UNC (Almost Unc. Plus ~55-58): folds 1 very light fold (soft bend, no sharp crease, no design break) or up to 3 corner bends; handling trace; paper crisp; corners nearly sharp.
  • AU (Almost Unc. ~50-53): folds 1 light fold or 2 very light folds; handling light; paper crisp to slightly relaxed; corners slightly rounded.
  • XF+ (Extra Fine Plus ~45-48): folds 2-3 light folds; handling light; paper crisp to regular; edges minor wear begins.
  • XF (Extra Fine ~40-44): folds 3-4 light to moderate folds; handling moderate; paper crisp to regular; edges/splits minor splits may appear.
  • VF+ (Very Fine Plus ~35-39): folds 4-6 moderate folds; handling moderate; paper regular to semi-limp; splits minor and more common.
  • VF (Very Fine ~30-34): folds 6-8 moderate to heavy folds; paper semi-limp; splits small but typical; surface light soiling visible.
  • VFâ (Very Fine Minus ~25-29): folds 8-12 heavy folds; paper semi-limp to limp; splits moderate; surface duller; foxing/writing may be present and reflected in grade without separate notation.
  • F (Fine 15-20): folds 12-15 heavy folds, may include very heavy folds; paper limp; splits frequent; tears up to 10 mm, limited in number; missing pieces up to 3 small edge/corner pieces, each up to about 3Ã3 mm; foxing/writing may be present and reflected in grade without separate notation.
  • Fâ (Fine Minus ~12-14): folds numerous very heavy folds; paper limp; splits common; tears up to about 15 mm; missing pieces up to 5 small pieces, each up to about 5 mm; foxing/writing may be present and reflected in grade without separate notation.
  • VG/F (Very Good to Fine ~10-12): folds dense network of very heavy folds; paper very limp; splits heavy; tears common; missing pieces multiple; foxing/writing may be minor or significant and reflected in grade without separate notation.
  • VG (Very Good ~8-10): folds severe overlapping very heavy folds; paper very limp; splits heavy with edge damage; missing pieces multiple; surface poor eye appeal; foxing/writing may be minor or significant and reflected in grade without separate notation.

Definitions

  • Handling: surface fatigue without structural change; loss of crispness, slight dulling, and/or micro-flexing; not a true fold.
  • Fold severity: very light = bend only, no sharp crease, no ink disturbance; light = thin crease, clean line, no ink loss; moderate = visible pressure, slightly widened line; heavy = broad crease, may vary slightly in placement; very heavy = thick, uneven, with weakened or partially lost design along the fold.
  • Half-moon / band impression: curved pressure mark from a counting strap or internal security thread; acceptable in UNC if the paper is not broken and there is no fiber or design disturbance; if flattening or disturbance is visible, the note is typically AU/UNC or lower. A simple central-bank band impression is generally less serious than a mark that visibly disturbs the printed design.
  • Foxing: age-related spotting. Minor foxing typically lowers a note about one grade step; major foxing lowers it multiple steps.
  • Pen marks / writing: minor means under about 2 cm² total visible writing; major means more than ~2 cm² or visually dominant writing. Minor writing lowers a note one grade step; major writing lowers it multiple steps.
  • Tears / splits / missing pieces: structural defects. These must remain within the limits of the assigned grade; excessive size, count, or severity forces a downgrade.
  • When foxing, writing or tears downgrade a note, the issue may be absorbed into the assigned grade without explicit mention.