It is well known that the innovations introduced by Emperor Menelik II brought into existence a national coinage based on the widely accepted Maria Theresa taler, which had constituted the currency in Abyssinia since the middle of the 19th century. He had been convinced by his European advisors that having his own coins (together with postal stamps) would be a strong sign of sovereignty. Besides, they speculated with the international scene of collectors from the beginnings. Talers and silver..

Hahn, Wolfgang

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 Éloi Ficquet, Ahmed Hassen Omer and Thomas Osmond (dir.)Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement. Volume1Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of EthiopianStudiesCentre français des études éthiopiennesHow Menelik came to have a mintWolfgang HahnPublisher: Centre français des études éthiopiennes, Tsehai Publishers, Addis Ababa UniversityPlace of publication: Addis Ababa, Los AngelesYear of publication: 2016Published on OpenEdition Books: 22 June 2023Series: Corne de l’Afrique contemporaine / Contemporary Horn of AfricaElectronic EAN: 9782111723139http://books.openedition.orgElectronic referenceHAHN, Wolfgang. How Menelik came to have a mint In: Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement.Volume 1: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies [online]. Addis Ababa, LosAngeles: Centre français des études éthiopiennes, 2016 (generated 23 juin 2023). Available on theInternet: <http://books.openedition.org/cfee/1173>. ISBN: 9782111723139.235How Menelik came to have a mintWolfgang Hahn*It is well known that the innovations introduced by Emperor Menelik II brought intoexistence a national coinage based on the widely accepted Maria Theresa taler, whichhad constituted the currency in Abyssinia since the middle of the 19th century.1 He hadbeen convinced by his European advisors that having his own coins (together with postalstamps) would be a strong sign of sovereignty. Besides, they speculated with theinternational scene of collectors from the beginnings.Talers and silver coinsAn additional convention to the treaty of Ucciali (1889) had already provided forEthiopian coins to be struck in future by the mint of Rome, but after the cancellationof the treaty (1893) and the war with Italy (1896), Menelik became more and moreorientated towards France. So, his advisor Leon Chefneux (1853-1927) managed todirect the order of producing the first set of coins to the Paris mint, quite to his personalinterests. The original set2 consisted of seven denominations: the taler (birr), its half(alad), quarter (rub), eight (tamun) in silver and three fractions in copper. Of these, onlythe silver quarters gained considerable importance in the circulation of money. Soon,they were joined by pieces in the weight of 1/20 taler, called gersh (mahallak, piaster)which was an Egyptian denomination, a most common coin on the Harar market fromthe time of the Egyptian dominance; it had afterwards been locally manufactured, shortlybefore the installation of Menelik’s new system.3 Because there was more demand thansupply these small silvers were overvalued and became officially established as 1/16 ofthe taler.4* Professor of numismatics, Vienna University, Austria.1 PANKHURST 1963/1; HAHN 2007.2 FOVILLE 1898. For a recent catalogue see GILL 1991.3 ATAS 1980; HAHN 2006/2.4 This overvaluation was facilitated by the fact that only the name of the denomination was written on thiscoin, but not a value number; the place of the projected 1/16 taler as a large copper coin (of which onlytrial pieces had been struck by the Paris mint in 1896) was thus filled by a small (underweight) silver coin.On the bargaining with it see also HAHN 2003.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN236All the silver coins showed the image of the emperor looking right on the obverseand the lion of Juda with the flag on a cross-staff which, by contrast, is walking left onthe reverse; thus by turning the coin, they face each other. The model of the obversedie was prepared in Paris from photos of the emperor. The drawing of the lion on thereverse proved to be unfortunate as he is holding the cross in his left paw that is, ofcourse, indecent. This was corrected on a later, more expressive model made by anotherParisian engraver, but resulting in a second unsatisfactory composition that shows thestaff of the cross behind the lion. This iconographic problem was only solved much later,in Haile Selassie’s time when the direction of the pictures were interchanged by havingthe emperor looking to the left and the lion walking to the right. The Paris coinproduction for Menelik is not to be followed up here.5By the peace treaty with Italy, Menelik was paid an indemnity of 10 million Lire,which he could use partly for buying technical equipment in Europe. As is well knownhe was fond of mechanical toys and the influential Armenian faction at the courtpersuaded him to wish for a mint of his own so that he would be able to produce coinscheaper than by ordering them from Paris and to be independent from commission workin France. We have to keep in mind that there was not a single mint operating on theAfrican continent6 at that time, when the different governments ordered all coins fromEuropean mints, which disposed of the most modern equipment. Thus the idea ofcreating a mint in Addis Ababa was somewhat outdated. The obvious step for thisundertaking was to turn to Vienna whence the Maria Teresa talers originated and wherethe mint was also experienced in performing foreign orders. Information on whathappened can be reconstructed from sources preserved in Austrian archives7 and frompersonal memories,8 bringing more light into the events than one can read in theliterature on Menelik II, which is inaccurate in some relevant details.9The negotiations with European partnersMenelik’s emissary who went to Vienna in September 1902 was a certain Mr. HagopBaghdassarian (1873-1932) who later became notorious as a very versatile businessmanengaged in jewellery, engraving, printing and even fabrication of alcohol.10 Like manyother Armenians, he had come to Ethiopia in the last quarter of the 19th century as afugitive from the Ottoman Empire. Now he saw a chance to gain himself a position asdirector of the future mint. In Austria he looked for other industrial products too, likerifles, knives and textiles. So he turned to one of Austria’ leading industrialists of thetime, Arthur Krupp (1858-1938), who owned a metal ware factory near Vienna, wherehe produced metal planchets for the mint. He must not be mistaken as a member of the5 For a review on the different aspects of these coins see HAHN 2013.6 The South African mint of Pretoria was suspended between 1900 and 1923.7 On the files in the archives of the Austrian mint see HAHN 2006/1. A few other files are kept in theAustrian State archives.8 Bequest of Billy Hentze’s daughter Marcelline.9 E.g. PANKHURST 1963/2.10 On Baghdassarian see also HAHN 2003.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN237famous Krupp clan in Essen to whom he was only a distant relative. Arthur Krupp likedto pave connections with foreign countries and he did help Baghdassarian along byrecommending him to the director of Vienna’s imperial mint, Demeter Petrovic (1858-1936). This man cared for the permissions of his superior ministry, given in October1902, not only to have dies made for the new coins, but also to train a technician inhandling the machines. This was another Armenian in Baghdassarian’s company, a mancalled Michael Topjian (1870-?). For the construction of the machinery Petrovicrecommended a Viennese factory specialized in coin presses and all other necessarymechanical equipments, a firm by name Vulkan, former Fernau’s iron-foundry. Thecontract was concluded on 11 October 1902.11 The machinery was expensive as it was tobe built in parts for the transport. Its price - the installation included - was 228,000Francs (c. 100,000 talers), which may be compared with a locomotive for the new railwaycompany ordered from Switzerland for 49,000 Francs.Following up the ongoing action we can look at its different stages: The engravingof the dies, the training of the technician, the construction of the machines, thetransport to Ethiopia via Djibouti and Dire Dawa, and the installation in Addis Ababa,inclusive building a special edifice for it.The model for the engraving of the obverse dies was made by Antony Scharff (1845-1903), the chief engraver of the Viennese mint; when he got sick his assistant FrancisPawlik (1865-1906) took over the work for the reverse die. The design followed theParis pattern (for which the Armenians had brought coins) – but combined the reverseof the corrected lion with the earlier obverse on which the old date 1889 = 1896/97 waskept in memory of the Italian war and the peace treaty of October 1896. It looks as if itwas intended to have the new coins ready for the Adua day-celebration in 1903 (thoughthis proved to be too optimistic).Such pairs of dies were prepared for eight denominations: the already established fivein silver were augmented by three in gold, but no more copper coins were thoughtnecessary at that time. Originally, the gold coins were designed to be struck on theFrench standard (i.e. that of the Latin Monetary Union) as pieces of 5, 10 and 20 Francs;however, for practical reasons they were somewhat reduced becoming fractions of theounce weight (wakat). Apparently Menelik wanted gold coins as noble pieces forpresentation purposes. To avoid forging (gilding of silver coins) the golden pieces weredifferentiated on the obverse by branches added under the emperor’s bust - perhapsinspired by Ottoman coins, but their position under the bust and over the date mightalso be taken as a reference to the victory of Adwa.Whilst all the Paris dies are signed by small symbols of the administration and of thedesigners this kind of mint marks was not customary in Vienna and they were omittedfrom the new dies. But the most striking difference between the two mint traditions isthe so called die-position which was the way of fixing the dies in the presses: the rotationof French coins was upside down, in the German habit it was horizontal and thereforebetter suited to the use of coins to be worn as jewellery.11 For the full text of the contract see HAHN 2006/1, no.4, pp.144f.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN238The expenses for the dies to be paid to the Vienna mint amounted to 8000 Crowns =7620 Francs/Lire (this would have been c.3300 talers). The mother dies are still extantin the Vienna mint.12 Sometimes one can read that Vienna provided Addis Ababa alsowith dies for the striking of Maria Theresa talers, but this is a misunderstanding andwas definitely not the case.Meanwhile Michael Topjian, the technician, was trained at the mint in Vienna andhe was joined by an engineer of the Vulkan machine factory, a certain Billy Hentze(1876-1944) who had been chosen to escort the machinery to Addis Ababa and installit there. In Vienna he could also serve as interpreter for Topjian, probably in French.Hentze is a very interesting person, an adventurer by nature, who was in the late 20s ofhis life. Of Northern-German origin he had found an employment in Vienna, but nowhe saw his chance for a career overseas. This in mind he married a young Austrian girlwho was to go with him.When the coin press and the dies were ready a trial run was made at the Vulkanfactory on 11 March 1903. Then the Hentzes and Topjian with the machines could starttheir journey to Ethiopia. In Trieste they took a steamer of the Austro-HungarianLloyd, which maintained a regular service on the Red Sea route to India. The ship wasthe freighter “Tyrol”; later, in the 1st World War, it was turned into a hospital ship andsurvived a mine-explosion. For the unloading of the special cargo it was probably mooredin Djibouti whereas the normal stop on its route was Aden. The newly built railway linefrom Djibouti had been opened as far as Dire Dawa a few months ago, in December1902, so that the transport on the first 310 km overland was less wearisome.It was June 1903 when the caravan was organized in Dire Dawa for the remaining470 km to Addis Ababa. In the meantime Hentze had been useful by repairing thetelegraph line. Finally, in July, the party reached Addis Ababa. The news of aforthcoming coin production rapidly spread.13The challenges of coin production in EthiopiaAfterwards, Hentze wrote a book on the experiences he underwent during his twentymonths’ stay in Ethiopia under the title “At the court of emperor Menelik of Abyssinia”,of course in German.14 It is full of episodes describing his struggle against the intriguesof the Armenian clique. Because of Hentze’s negative attitude it was not accepted intothe books that were presented by the German government to an Ethiopian delegationvisiting Germany in 1907.Hentze’s next task was the erection of a building to house the mint on the palacegrounds, in its northern parts, which are, regrettably, nowadays inaccessible, because12 STEMPELSAMMLUNG 1904: 963-5 (nos 7066-7116). One die is illustrated in: HAHN 2001, ill.9.13 To quote a newspaper message (San Francisco Call vol.94, 31 July 1903): “King Menelik of Abyssinia is tohave his own mint, and it will be in full operation at his capital, Addis Ababa, by the first of the comingyear ... It is understood that the king has more than 110.230 pounds of gold bullion on hand, besides alarge amount of silver.”14 HENTZE 1905 (a second edition was published in 1908); HENTZE 1928.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN239there are military barracks. For the steam-powered engines solid foundations and a highchimney were necessary, a difficult task as there was no concrete know in Ethiopia atthat time. The preparations lasted until February 1904 when Hentze was able to start atrial phase of operation. In his book he portrays the emperor himself playfully handlingthe coining press.It is well known that Menelik was fond of all kinds of technical toys and Hentzetried to win his favour by repairing a lot of what had got out of function. His aim wasto be indispensable for running the mint and to stay longer than the contracted halfyear, possibly as permanent manager of the mint. This brought him into conflict withthe Armenians, especially Baghdassarian, who demanded another engineer to be sentfrom Vienna, however in vain. The intrigues were aided by Hentze’s brusqueness and inFebruary 1905 his adversaries succeeded in having him and his wife expelled fromEthiopia. In revenge he left the mint inoperable. Baghdassarian and his novice, Topjian,seem to have been unable to cope with the situation, but then Menelik’s Swiss councillorAlfred Ilg (1854-1916) asked the Austrian government for help.The opportunity was right because an Austro-Hungarian delegation was expectedcoming to Ethiopia for the conclusion of a treaty of friendship and commerce. It wasled by Rear-Admiral Lewis von Hoehnel (1857-1942) who was regarded to be an expert,because he had visited Ethiopia earlier as an explorer. The party arrived in Addis Ababaduring March 1905. In Hoehnel’s entourage there was a navy engineer, Francis Jina(1871-1919?), who had got a fast training at the Vienna mint and at the Vulkan factoryfor this purpose. Together with an aid he stayed behind when Hoehnel left and theywere able to get the mint working by May 1905. The emperor compensated them onlyby three elephant’s teeth, so that they had to borrow money from Ilg for the return toAustria.Until its end in 1936, the following history of the Addis Ababa mint can only besketched.15 Contrary to what had been expected the mint was less and less able to meetthe demands. Due to bad maintenance and the difficulties in preparing the metalplanchets there were frequent breakdowns so that new orders in Paris became necessaryfrom 1910 onwards. Unfortunately the mint records did not survive, but certainly after1915 (at the latest) production was discontinued and Topjian left the country (allegedlywith the mint records). Judging from the frequency of their occurrence, mainly quartertalers16 were struck during this first period of operation in the Addis Ababa mint, withless gershes and only rare half talers (20,000 were reported in 1912). It has wrongly beenmaintained that the coin press was too weak for striking the one taler piece (birr); inreality the technical difficulty laid in the rim of the coin with raised letters (as wasrequired) - besides the fact that an intention to replace the Maria Theresa talers wouldhave been a hopeless undertaking. Thus only trial pieces are extant from the taler dies –and later mint sports in gold, a speciality of Baghdassarian.15 HAHN 2001-02.16 Without reason they were suspected of containing less silver than the Paris made “turru rub” (as discernedby the details of the reverse picture, in particular by the curling of the lion’s tail), HAHN 2003.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN240ConclusionThen there was a long gap in the Addis Ababa minting activity until it was revived underRas Tafari in the late 1920s for a second period of activity until the Italian conquest in1936. After the war, the British administration – keen on introducing the British EastAfrica Shilling into Ethiopia – in 1941 prevented the resuming of coin production inAddis Ababa, which Haile Selassie had wished for.17BibliographyATAS, M., 1980, “Renaissance d’une monnaie nationale”, Abbay 11: 135-42.DE FOVILLE, A., 1898, Les monnaies de l’Ethiopie sous l’empereur Menelik, Paris.GILL, D., 1991, The Coinage of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somalia, Garden City.HAHN, W., 2001, “Zur Geschichte der Münzstätte Addis Abeba (Part 2): zwischen denbeiden Weltkriegen”, Money Trend 33 (7-8): 54-9.HAHN, W., 2002, “Zur Geschichte der Münzstätte Addis Abeba (Part 3): DieProduktion von medaillösen Stücken, Money Trend 34 (12): 118-21.HAHN, W., 2003, “Numismatische Lesefrüchte aus Abessinien”, in Mitteilungen desInstituts für Numismatik und Geldgeschichte der Universität Wien 26: 5-9.HAHN, W., 2006/1, “Zur Geschichte der Münzstätte Addis Abeba (1903-1936), Teil 4:Aus österreichischen Archiven”, Money Trend 38 (4): 140-6 and 38 (5): 144-50.HAHN, W., 2006/2, “Von Gewehrpatronen und Münzen - Die ersten Ansätze einerMünzprägung im Reiche Meneliks II. von Äthiopien”, in Mitteilungen des Instituts fürNumismatik und Geldgeschichte der Universität Wien 33: 12-17.HAHN, W., 2007, “The Maria Theresa Dollar - A historical link between Austria andEthiopia”, in Austria Embassy Addis Abeba Occasional Papers, 3: 112-32.HAHN, W., 2013, “Numismatisches zum 100. Todestag des Kaisers Menelik II. vonÄthiopien”, Money Trend 45 (12).HENTZE, W., 1905, Am Hofe des Kaisers Menelik von Abessinien, Leipzig.HENTZE, W., 1928, Volldampf unter Palmen - Erinnerungen eines Ingenieurs, Leipzig.PANKHURST, R., 1963/1, “The Maria Theresa Dollar in Pre-War Ethiopia”, Journal ofEthiopian Studies 1 (1): 8-26.PANKHURST, R., 1963/2, “Ethiopian Monetary and Banking Innovations in the 19thand early 20th centuries”, Journal of Ethiopian Studies 1 (2): 64-120.17 PANKHURST 1974: 250f.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN241PANKHURST, R., 1974, “Ethiopian Monetary History in the Phase of Post-WarReconstruction: A Collation of Ethiopian, British and American Documents”, EthiopiaObserver 17: 228-303.STEMPELSAMMLUNG, 1904, Katalog der Münzen- und Medaillen-Stempelsammlung desK.K. Hauptmünzamtes, vol.3, Wien.PICES 18 – Wolfgang HAHN242

How Menelik came to have a mint

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