10 Pounds OAU, Silver Piedfort

The 1978 Organisation of African Unity commemorative was issued as Sudan hosted the OAU summit in Khartoum — a moment of considerable diplomatic ambition for Nimeiry's government, which had reoriented Sudan toward the Arab world and Western donors following the failed communist coup of 1971. The piedfort format, double the normal planchet thickness, was a deliberate prestige choice aimed at the collector market rather than circulation.

Production numbers were extremely limited, as was typical for Sudanese piedfort issues of this period, most of which were struck at European mints under contract.