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 The war started when Eritrea's autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was revoked.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.

Leopard on log right divides denomination. Date on right.

The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five "big cats" in the genus Panthera. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but has a smaller, lighter physique. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguar's do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic are known as black panthers.