Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I (Ras Tafari Makonnen) gold Mule Presentation Werk EE1921 (1928) MS62 NGC, Addis Ababa mint, Gill-RT8, plain edge. Accomplished by the muling of a die created for a pattern 1/8 Birr and a Menelik 1/32 Birr, with the obverse displaying a leftward facing crowned Ras Tafari and the familiar Lion of Judah motif on the reverse. Likely struck long after the intended period of usage for the dies, with both obverse and reverse displaying pebbly die rust (as made) within the fields. Haile Selassie gave these pieces to dignitaries and favored individuals. Fully lustrous, with the crude strike one might expect from using rusty obverse die for a pattern 1/8 Birr (Gill-RT2), and the reverse die of a 1/32 Birr (KM-Y17a). Quite rare.
Ex. Lawrence Adams Collection.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD