Ethiopia, First Definitive Issue (Lion of Judah)

Ethiopia · 1894 · 1/4 Guerche

This stamp, the first issued by Ethiopia (then Abyssinia), features the Lion of Judah, a symbol of the Solomonic dynasty. The design includes the crowned lion holding a cross-staffed banner, with Amharic script inscriptions for the country and denomination.

Issued under Emperor Menelik II, these stamps marked Ethiopia's entry into the Universal Postal Union and asserted its sovereignty and modernization efforts during a period of increasing European colonial pressure in Africa.