The 1950 film "King Solomon's Mines" shows some Ethiopian birrs or talaris (Ethopian silver dollars) used as medals by African hunters. The film is based on H. Rider Haggard's novel about an 1887 safari in Central Africa and starred Stewart Granger as Allan Quatermain and Deborah Kerr as Elizabeth Curtis. In one scene an African assistant hunter is killed by an elephant, he is shown wearing jewelry made from silver dollar size coins.

Allan Quatermain, a professional hunter, takes two clients, Elizabeth Curtis and her brother, to search for Elizabeth's husband who is missing in Africa. The husband went looking for a legendary treasure. Early in the film, Allan's African assistant is killed by an elephant. Allan removes a decoration from the man's neck to give to his wife. The decoration is two silver dollar sized coins joined by beads. The coins are Ethiopian birrs or talaris (silver dollars) minted from 1895 to 1903. Elizabeth and her brother appear and the three head into the African jungle looking for the husband and the famous mines.

The coins are Ethiopian birrs or talaris (silver dollars).

The date on the coin is the Ethiopian Era year 1889 (AD 1897). They are the size of a US silver dollar (38 mm) and were made from AD 1894 to 1904.

Elizabeth meets Allan and asks him to find her husband.

Deborah Kerr as Elizabeth Curtis
Stewart Granger as Allan Quatermain
Richard Carlson as John Goode
Directors: Compton Bennett, Andrew Marton
Writers: Helen Deutsch, H. Rider Haggard (novel)