Catalog
20 Afghanis
| Issuer | Ministry of Finance |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Afghani (1925-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| 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 |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark reddish-brown on a light ground, with an elaborate guilloche border framing the entire design. At centre-left, the Afghan state arms — the mihrab and pulpit within a wreath — appear within a circular vignette surrounded by fine arabesque scrollwork. To the right, a vignette of a monument or column in a landscape setting is enclosed within an oval frame with ornamental surround. Arabic inscriptions in Naskh script fill the central field, including the treasury authorization text, with the numeral "20" rendered in both Arabic-Indic and Western form at lower centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | 20 ٢٠ داافغانستان د خزانې اسناد د مالیې وزارت |
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| Comments |
Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance issued paper currency directly — bypassing a central bank — during a period when Da Afghanistan Bank either lacked authority or capacity to manage note issuance independently. The P#18A is part of a series tied to that arrangement, an administrative oddity that distinguishes Afghan issues of this period from most contemporaneous Asian emission structures.
Cotton substrate was the practical choice for a country with punishing circulation conditions: heat, dust, and repeated hand-to-hand transfer in bazaar economies destroyed rag paper quickly. Notes from this series that survived did so largely outside active commerce.