10 Dollars 1953, Ethiopia
| in Krause book | Number: 14c |
| Years of issue: | 1953 - 1956 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Governor of the State Bank of Ethiopia: Mr. Walter Henry Rozell Jr. (in office from from 1953 to 1956) |
| Serie: | 1945 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 23.7.1945 |
| Material: | 100% raw cotton |
| Size (mm): | 150 х 78 |
| Printer: | Security banknote company, USA |
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Description
Watermark:
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is made in the style of the classic profile of the monarch for coins and stamps, presumably, from one of the few rare photographs of His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, during a visit of US military delegation to Addis Ababa.
On the photo, His Majesty, Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia, strolling in the Palace grounds. These pictures are the first to be taken for publication since His Majesty's return to become a fighting member of the United Nations.
Haile Selassie I (23 July 1892, Ejersa Goro, Ethiopia - 27 August 1975, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), born Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was the heir to a dynasty that traced its origins by tradition from King Solomon and Queen Makeda, Empress of Axum, known in the Abrahamic tradition as the Queen of Sheba.
Equestrian statue of Emperor Menelik II, 1930.
Menelik II (1844-1913) was Negus (king) of Shewa (1866-89), then Nəgusä Nägäst (King of kings) of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. At the height of his power the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state had been completed by 1898. His victory over the Italian invaders at Adwa (1896) had earned him great fame: following Adwa, recognition of Ethiopia’s independence by external powers was expressed in terms of diplomatic representation at the court of Menelik and delineation of Ethiopia’s boundaries with the adjacent colonies.
Sculptor(s): Karl Haertel (1863–1941) was a German architect. (equestrianstatue.org)
Saint George's Cathedral (Amharic: የቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ ካቴድራል) is an Ethiopian Orthodox church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The cathedral is noted for its distinctive octagonal form. It is located at the northern end of Churchill Road in the city.
The new church was built on the ruins of an older church from the 15th century. It was named after St. George, after the Tabot (Ark) of the church was carried to the Battle of Adwa against the Italians during which the Ethiopians secured victory. One of the founders was Andargaye, and his daughter, Kisela Andargaye and her husband, Agonafir Woldeyess are buried in the church yards. The building was described in 1938 in an Italian tourist publication as a fine example of the European interpretation of Ethiopian church design. The Italian Fascist authorities set the building on fire in 1937. The cathedral was later restored by Emperor Haile Selassie following the liberation in 1941.
Empress Zewditu was crowned at this Cathedral in 1917, and Emperor Haile Selassie was crowned there in 1930, and it became a pilgrimage site for Rastafarians. The Cathedral has a museum, and an Imperial throne is on display as is the stained glass works of artist Afewerk Tekle. Given the reason why the cathedral was named, it displays weaponry used in the wars against the Italians including curved swords and tridents and giant helmets made from the manes of lions. 
On foreground are Banana trees (Musaceae).
The Musaceae are a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves with overlapping basal sheaths that form a pseudostem making some members appear to be woody trees. In most treatments, the family has two genera, Musa and Ensete. Cultivated bananas are commercially important members of the family.
Denominations in numerals are in all corners. In words, lower, centered.
Revers:
Coat of arms of the Ethiopian Empire centered.
Lesser arms of Ethiopian empire has a crowned Ethiopian imperial crown lion of Judah, of natural color, carrying a golden staff in left paw, with a finial in the form of a cross, and the two, with a gold fringe, gold ribbons on a green grassy foothills.
Ethiopia history as recorded and elaborated in a XIII-century treatise, the "Kebre Negest", asserts descent from a retinue of Israelites who returned with Makeda, the Queen of Sheba from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, by whom she had conceived the Solomonic dynasty's founder Menelik I. As Solomon was of the tribe of Judah, his son Menelik I would continue the line, which according to Ethiopian history was passed directly down from King to King until Emperor Haile Selassie I (ostensibly the 225th king from King David) was deposed in 1974. Both Christian and Jewish Ethiopian history have it that there were also immigrants of the Tribes of Dan and Judah that accompanied Makeda back from her visit to Solomon; hence the Ge'ez motto Mo`a 'Anbessa Ze'imnegede Yihuda ("The Lion of Judah has conquered"), included among the titles of the Emperor throughout the Solomonic Dynasty. It is unknown whether John of Patmos was directly aware of this hereditary title when he penned it into the text of the prophecy.
The Lion of Judah motif figured prominently on the old imperial flag, currency, stamps, etc. and may still be seen gracing the terrace of the capital as a national symbol. After the collapse of the Communist Derg in 1990 and the increase of Western-style political freedoms, a minor political party bearing the name Mo'a Anbessa made its appearance.
In the Rastafari movement "The Lion of Judah" is Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, crowned November 2, 1930 with the titles "KING of Kings, LORD of lords, Conquering Lion of Judah, Elect of God, the Light of the World." Rastas hold that H.I.M. Haile Selassie I is a direct descendant of the Israelite Tribe of Judah through the lineage of King David and Solomon, and that he is also the Lion of Judah mentioned in the Book of Genesis chap. 49 and Revelation 5.5; there is no proof that Haile Selassie I ever denied these claims.
The monument to the Lion of Judah is a statue of the Lion of Judah, symbol of Ethiopian Emperors and Ethiopia, and is located in Addis Ababa.
The monument is located in the square of the Addis Ababa railway station in Addis Ababa and marks the end of Winston Churchill Avenue, one of the main arteries of the city. The sculpture of the Lion of Judah, in gilded bronze, is placed on a black granite pedestal decorated with relief portraits of emperors Menelik II, Haile Selassie I, Zewditu, and Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael. The work was made by the French sculptor Georges Gardet in 1930, on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Hailé Selassié on 2 November 1930.
After the 1974 revolution, the Derg regime thought of removing the monument, symbol of the monarchy, but an association of Arbegnoch veterans claimed that it was a memory of Ethiopian antifascist resistance and a symbol of Ethiopia. Therefore, the regime agreed to leave the monument, which is still in front of the Addis Ababa central station. In 1954, a new monument was commissioned by Emperor Hailè Selassiè from sculptor Maurice Calka.
The monument is found around the National Bank of Ethiopia and the National Theater.
1935: Looted by Fascist Italian force
At the end of the so-called March of the Iron Will (in italian: Marcia della ferrea volontà) (during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War) that led to the occupation of Addis Ababa by the Italian army, the statue was transported to Rome, Italy in 1935 at the end of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
On 8 May 1937, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the proclamation of the Italian Empire, the Lion of Judah sculpture was placed just beyond Square of Five hundred to Rome, under the obelisk that remembers of the Battle of Dogali.
The Lion of Judah statue remained in Rome until the 1960s, when it was returned to Ethiopia after the negotiations in Addis Ababa. Emperor Haile Selassie took part in the new inauguration ceremony in military uniform, also recalling the patriotic gesture of Zerai Derres.
Denominations in numerals are in all corners. In words lower centered.
Comments:
Governor Mr. Walter Henry Rozell Jr. was the third American, working in the government of Ethiopia, since the return of Emperor Haile Selassie from exile.
More about whole story you can read here (Peter Symes)
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