MATONA: COIN OF ETHIOPIA
50 matonas (መቶኛ።), 1931: Ethiopian Empire
Ruler: Haile Selassie I (ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ) — the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974; the key figure of Rastafari (a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s; it is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement). Rastafari is Afrocentric and focuses attention on the African diaspora, which according to the doctrine is oppressed within Western society (in "Babylon").
Date on coin: EE 1923 by the Ethiopian calendar (፲፱፻፳፫: Amharic) = 1931 (Gregorian calendar).
ሞዓ አንበሳ ዘእምነገደ ይሁዳ፡ The Lion King of Judah (Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah).
Lion of Judah (symbol, the Royal Insignia of the Ethiopian empire; one of the titles of the ancient Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia) holding cross with ribbon.
ቀዳማዊ ኃይለ ሥላሴ ንጉሠ ነገሥት ዘኢትዮጵያ: Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia.
፶ መቶኛ: 50 matonas (metonnyas).
Portrait of the emperor.
Addis Ababa Mint, Ethiopia.
Mintage: 1.621.000.
- Nickel: 26.7 mm - 7.1 g
- Reference price: 8$
COIN MATONA — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- ETHIOPIAN EMPIRE (1931): matona = 1/100 birr
The name of the coin matona (also matonya, metonya) comes from the Amharic term መቶወኛ, which literally means hundredth. That is, the name indicates the equality of this coin 1/100 of the basic currency — birr. Matona, in a way, is an analogue of the cent, centavo, centesimo... coins in terms of etymology.
