Young S. asks: What is the origin of the $5 Silver Ethiopian Haile Selassie? How was it commissioned and by who? Is 1972 the only year? Mintage? Are the mintage figures published believable? Thanking you in advance…
The one year issue, 1972 Halle Selassie $5 (5 Birr) coin is a good example of a non-circulating legal tender issue (mintage 100,000). NCLT coins are made only to raise money for the issuing body and not intended for use as money. The issue price is usually far more than the face value. The collector markets are filled with NCLT produced by virtually every country with a mint.
The United States’ NCLT issues have really gotten out of control over the last few years. It could cost thousands of dollars to buy all the issues from just one year from the U.S. Mint. One wonders if there is a point of diminishing returns where people just throw in the towel. Until then the world’s mints will continue flooding the market with these issues.
