Catalog
1 Riffan
| Issuer | State Bank of the Riff |
|---|---|
| Year | 1923 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Printed in red-orange on white paper within a decorative guilloche border. A mounted horseman vignette appears at both the left and right flanks of the central text panel, each accompanied by a star and crescent motif in the upper corners. The central cartouche carries the Arabic denomination واحد ريڤان, with the serial number and date 10.10.23 printed above it, and the numeral 1 enclosed in a circle at lower left with the Arabic واحد in a circle at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | STATE BANK OF THE RIFF بنك حكومة الريڤ واحد ريڤان ONE RIFFAN EQUAL TO TEN ENGLISH PENCE BON POUR UN FRANC D'OR |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The State Bank of the Riff was established by Abd el-Krim al-Khattabi during the short-lived Republic of the Rif, the Berber proto-state in northern Morocco that held off both Spanish and French forces until its collapse in 1926. This note is among the rarest products of any twentieth-century revolutionary government — the Rif Republic's entire monetary experiment was compressed into roughly three years, and issuance was extremely limited.
Whether these ever circulated meaningfully among the Riffian population, or functioned primarily as instruments of political legitimacy, remains genuinely unclear in the literature. Most known survivors appear unissued.