Catalog
1 Millieme - Idris I
| Issuer | Libya |
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| Year | 1952 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3 g |
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| Obverse description | Right-facing effigy of King Idris I, depicted wearing a traditional wrapped headdress with trailing cloth, and a short beard. The portrait, engraved by Paul Vincze, is rendered in a naturalistic style with fine sculptural detail. The Arabic legend is divided across the field to either side of the bust, reading right to left. The engraver's initials 'PV' appear in the lower field beneath the truncation. The entire design is contained within a beaded border. |
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| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
This coin belongs to Libya's first independent coinage series, issued the year after the country achieved independence under UN auspices in December 1951 — making Idris I the first and only king of a state that had existed, in its modern form, for less than twelve months when these were struck. The entire 1952 series, from 1 millieme to 500 milliemes, had to be designed, authorized, and produced from scratch with no prior national monetary infrastructure to build on.
KM#1 in any national sequence carries obvious significance to type collectors, and this is genuinely the first coin Libya ever issued.