Hello everybody, I have some coins and I found some information about most of them but I can't find anything about one of them. I took two photos of them. Can you tell me anything about that coin? Thanks.
The design is of a 1/8 birr from Ethiopia, dated EE 1887 (about 1894 AD). There is something about the look of the coin that is strange, however.
I think it's the position of the bust that seems to be off. Also, it doesn't look very much like a .835 silver coin to me. If genuine, it's KM#2, listed in my 2002 Krause 3rd Ed. at $65 XF, $225 Unc. The country was still known as Abyssinia when 25,000 examples of the coin were minted in Paris.
I regret, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is not an original coin. It is made to remind a Birr from Ethiopia, but there are some differences in design and it is not silver, as the original should be. Compare yours to the original, in particular the cross on the Emperor's tiara on your peice instead of St.George on the original. http://www.coinarchives.com/w/lotviewer.php?LotID=709211&AucID=514&Lot=20807
