Birr (currency)

The Birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. It was first called the Ethiopian dollar and was introduced in 1945, and then renamed into Birr in 1976. 1 birr equals 100 cents. As of April 1, 2005, the United States dollar was worth 8.658600 birr.

Coins in circulation

• 1 cent
• 5 cents
• 10 cents
• 25 cents
• 50 cents.

Banknotes in circulation

• 1 Birr
• 5 Birr
• 10 Birr
• 50 Birr
• 100 Birr

The first national currency of Ethiopia was the Talari , or "Menelik talers", which were issued since 1894. In 1934 the occupying Italian forces caused Italian lire to be Ethiopian legal tender until the end of WW2.