Circular bronze medal on laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with the crowned head and shoulders portrait of Emperor Menelik II by Jules-Clément Chaplain (1839-1909) facing right within a geometric border; the reverse with a 2-6-0 steam locomotive, dated ‘1895’ (1903 AD) below and circumscribed above in Amharic, with French bronze hallmark, all within a geometric border; on the ribbon usually associated with this medal (there is some doubt as to whether it was originally issued with a ribbon). The medal was issued in connection with the construction project for the railway from Addis Ababa to the sea at Djibouti and was struck by the Paris Mint. The project for the railway began in the mid-1890s and from the outset encountered difficulty raising funds and numerous practical and political obstacles. The original Compagnie Impériale des Chemins de Fer Éthiopiens failed in 1906 by which time the line from Djibouti had reached Dire Dawa. A new enterprise was set up in 1908 and the line finally reached Addis Ababa in 1917. Discussions are currently under way to restore and reinvigorate the line. An interesting and relatively rare medal.
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