Timeline

• 19.02.1885
• Ministerial decree on the rating of the Maria Theresa Thaler in Massawa (Eritrea) at 4.50 Italian Lire; effective immediately
• 01.04.1886
• Ministerial decree on the rating of Egyptian coins in Eritrea; effective immediately:
  - Silver: 1 Piastre = 0.25 Italian Lire; Copper / Billon: 1 Piastre = 0.03 Italian Lire.
• 25.01.1887
• Ministerial decree on the rating of the Maria Theresa Thaler in Eritrea at 4.25 Italian Lire; effective immediately
• 12.05.1887
• Supreme commander's decree on the ban of Egyptian coinage and Maria Theresa Thalers; effective immediately.
  - The Thalers were re-admitted by decree of 04.09.1888.
• 09.09.1890
• Ministerial decree on the rating of the Maria Theresa Thaler in Eritrea at 4.75 Italian Lire; effective immediately

Timeline

• 10.08.1890
• Italian royal decree [No. 7049] on the introduction of the Eritrean Thaler of 5 Italian Lire and the issuance of Eritrean silver coins of 1, ⁴⁄₁₀, ²⁄₁₀, ¹⁄₁₀ Thaler and copper coins of ²⁄₁₀₀, ¹⁄₁₀₀ Thaler; effective immediately:
  10.08.1890: Italian royal decree [No. 7050], ordered the minting of the first batch of the silver coins (the copper coins were never produced).
• 25.01.1891
• Start of currency issuance:
  - 25.01.1891: Italian royal decree [No. 91] on the start of issuance of Eritrean coins (dated 1890 and 1891); effective immediately
  - 13.10.1895: Italian royal decree [No. 697] on the second issuance of Eritrean coins (dated 1896); effective immediately
  - 04.09.1898: Italian royal decree [No. 415] on the withrawal of 30% of the issued coins (as they were less popular than the Maria Theresa Thalers); effective immediately (more coins were withdrawn afterwards without changing the decree).
• 02.02.1914
• Start of operations of the Bank of Italy in Eritrea (city of Asmara)
• 1916-1921
• Restrictions to the use of Thalers in trade:
  - 01.07.1916: Governor's decree [No. 2589], banned the use of Thalers on the local markets; effective immediately
  - 24.10.1916: Governor's decree [No. 2653], banned all payments in Thalers and gave the Bank of Italy's "Thaler Office (Gestione Talleri)" the monopoly for exchanging Thalers into Italian Lire at a rate of 1 : 2.50; effective immediately
  - 05.08.1918: Governor's decree [No. 3198], re-admitted the Thalers for payment and suspended the Bank of Italy's money changer monopoly; effective 15.08.1918
  - 31.12.1921: Closure of the "Thaler Office".
• 31.05.1918
• Italian royal decree [No. 856] on the production (at the instigation of local businessmen) of an imitation to the Maria Theresa Thaler to overcome an import shortage; effective immediately
  - The coins were unpopular, and the production was not continued.
  - 09.07.1935: Agreement between Italian and Austrian governments on a license for the Rome mint to officially restrike Thalers with original dies for use in the Italian colonies.

Valuation Regimes

• 1890-1936
• Fixed rate against Italian Lira. The value of the Maria Theresa Thaler was initially (almost) the same as for the Eritrean Thaler but quickly dropped due to the decline of the silver bullion price.

Timeline

• 02.07.1936
• Royal Italian decree [No. 1371] on the adoption of the Italian currency in the East Africa colony; effective 15.07.1936 (later converted into law [No. 260] of 11.01 1937)
• 15.07.1936
• Start of currency exchange:
  - 15.07.1936: Start of issuance of Italian banknotes and coins (at the time, the silver Thaler was rated at 13.50 Italian Lire)
  - 05.01.1938: Finance ministerial decree, withdrew legal tender status from the Maria Theresa Thaler; they were not demonetized and could be traded at bullion value; effective 07.02.1938
  - 18.03.1938: Finance ministerial decree on the issuance of special banknotes of 1000, 500, 100, 50 Italian Lire for use in Italian East Africa by the bank of Italy; effective by finance ministerial decree of 08.08.1938.

Timeline

• 07.04.1941
• Start of currency exchange after the British occupation:
  - 07.04.1941: British military ordinance, declares legal tender status to (therefore demonetizes Italian money without banning its use): Maria Theresa Thaler, East African Shilling, Indian Rupee, Egyptian Pound; effective immediately
  - 24.04.1941
  - Rating of contracts and deposits in Italian currency as: Maria Theresa Thaler = 45 Italian Lire, East African Shilling = 24 Italian Lire, Indian Rupee = 36 Italian Lire, Egyptian Pound = 492 Italian Lire
  - 30.04.1941: Start of issuance of East African paper money and coins
  - 01.05.1942: Demonetisation of Indian paper money and coins (were introduced by military ordinance of 04.04.1941)
  - 31.10.1942: Demonetization of Egyptian paper money and coins (leaving the East African Shilling and the Maria Theresa Thaler at 2 East African Shillings as sole legal tender)
• 25.09.1952
• Start of currency exchange after the incorporation into Ethiopia:
  - 25.09.1952: Ethiopian ordinance [No. 127] on the currency exchange at 1 Ethiopian Birr = 2.86 East African Shillings; effective immediately
  - ??.??.1952: End of exchange period and demonetization of the East African currency.

Timeline

• 01.07.1997
• Ordinance [No. 96] on the currency reform; effective 08.11.1997
• 08.11.1997
• Start of currency exchange:
  - 08.11.1997: Start of issuance of the new banknotes and coins
  - 27.12.1997: Demonetization of the Ethiopian currency.

Valuation Regimes

• 1997-1999
• Variable rate
• 1999-
• Fixed rate against US Dollar