I glad to present you very interesting numismatic artifact - a commemorative coin of the Ethiopian Empire with a face value of 20 birr, weighing 8.13 grams, made of 900 gold in 1966 in honor of the 75th anniversary of the birth and 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I.

Such coins were issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 birr and were sold both individually and in a set. The coins are highly valued by numismatists and investors not only for their fineness and fine design, but also for the outstanding personality of the emperor. The last ruling Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, was officially considered a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in the 225th tribe. Historically, his dynasty came to power in Ethiopia in 1270 and ruled intermittently. The origin of the dynasty dates back to the rulers of the state of Aksum, which existed on the territory of Ethiopia since the beginning of the 1st century AD. This was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II, who belongs to a much less ancient dynasty.  In the photograph, she bowed in recognition of this.  Haile Selassie was born in 1892 into the family of a provincial governor who was a cousin of the then reigning Emperor Menelik II. Under Menelik, he ruled several provinces. Under the new emperor, to whose niece he was married, he lost confidence, since the new emperor converted to Islam. After 3 years, the emperor was overthrown and Haile Selassie became regent under the daughter of Emperor Menelik II. As regent, Haile carried out a large-scale modernization program based on the experience of another empire, the Japanese. The army was reformed, modern education and printing were established, the country received international recognition and was admitted to the League of Nations. After being crowned emperor in 1930, Haile Selassie accelerated the pace of modernization. In 1935-1936, he led the country's defense against the troops of fascist Italy. Returned to Ethiopia in May 1941 after the Italians were expelled from Ethiopia. In the post-war period, he strengthened his autocratic power. Ethiopia remained a feudal country. As a result of World War II, Ethiopia received the former Italian colony of Eritrea, but the armed struggle for independence did not stop there, depleting the country's economy. Despite his immense popularity on the African continent and among world leaders (he was awarded the H, S, Khrushchev Order of Suvorov, 1st degree), he was losing popularity in his homeland. Backward agriculture and droughts led to mass starvation. Being among the richest people in the world at that time, Haile Selassie did not provide assistance to the population from personal funds. He was overthrown by the military in 1974 and assassinated the following year. He was the last representative of the oldest ruling dynasty in the world, the last emperor in Africa. The only empire in the world after Ethiopia is the Empire of Japan.

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