The hundred birr of Ethiopia’s new series unites the man-made and the natural Ethiopia: the front shows the castle of Emperor Fasilides in Gondar, and the back the Sof Omar caves.

Gondar was founded in the seventeenth century by Emperor Fasilides, who made it his capital; the fortress complex of Fasil Ghebbi was the residence of Ethiopian emperors and in 1979 was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Sof Omar caves in the south-east of the country stretch for 15.1 kilometres, the Weyib River flows through them, and they are a sacred place for Muslims and followers of the traditional Oromo religion. When the caves were surveyed in 1972, they were considered the longest in Africa.

The note belongs to the series that the National Bank of Ethiopia put into circulation on 14 September 2020. According to the bank, the new notes reflect the country’s natural and historical features and its plans for the future, industrialisation and modern agriculture. This example comes from the later 2023 printing.

For an Ethiopia collection this denomination of the 2020 series carries two symbols of the country, imperial Gondar and the underground river of Sof Omar, and in a set on UNESCO sites on banknotes it brings the castles of Fasil Ghebbi. UNC condition means the note has never circulated: no folds, no wear, no soiling, even corners — just as it left the press.

Other paper money items from the same country or on the same theme are in the VPcoins catalogue.