1⁄40 Riyal - Ahmad Bronze, small 'Sanaa' and with 'Sana'

North Yemen's small-denomination bronzes from this period circulated under the Imamate of Ahmad bin Yahya, whose reign was defined by deliberate isolation — he resisted foreign influence so aggressively that basic infrastructure, including consistent mint operations, remained underdeveloped well into the 1950s. The Sanaa mint functioned intermittently, which accounts for the variety of inscription styles across otherwise identical types. The distinction between the large and small 'Sanaa' legends, and the separate 'Sana' spelling variant catalogued here, reflects inconsistent die-cutting rather than any intentional policy change.