Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 50 Cents 1997, KM# 47, Eritrea
  • 50 Cents 1997, KM# 47, Eritrea
Obverse

Soldiers with the national flag of Eritrea and date 1991 (not an issue date) are symbolizing the struggle for independence from Ethiopia.

The Eritrean War of Independence was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean separatists, both before and during the Ethiopian Civil War. The war started when Eritrea's autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was revoked.

Eritrea had become part of Ethiopia after World War II, when both territories were liberated from Italian occupation. The war went on for 30 years until 1991, when the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) defeated the Ethiopian forces in Eritrea, and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), with the help of the EPLF, took control of Ethiopia and removed the Marxist–Leninist People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

LIBERTY·EQUALITY·JUSTICE
1991

Reverse

Greater kudu left, divide denomination. Date on right.

The greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas, due to a declining habitat, deforestation and poaching. The greater kudu is one of two species commonly known as kudu, the other being the lesser kudu, T. imberbis.

Greater kudus have a narrow body with long legs, and their coats can range from brown/bluish grey to reddish brown. They possess between 4 and 12 vertical white stripes along their torso. The head tends to be darker in colour than the rest of the body, and exhibits a small white chevron which runs between the eyes.

STATE OF ERITREA 1997
50
FIFTY CENTS

Edge

50 Cents

KM# 47 Schön# 47
Characteristics
Material Nickel Clad Steel
Weight 7.8 g
Diameter 25 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin

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