Catalog
20 Ouguiya
| Issuer | Banque Centrale de Mauritanie |
|---|---|
| Year | 2017-2018 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية ١٤٣٩ ٢٠ أوقية (Translation: The Islamic Republic of Mauritania 1439 20 Ouguiya) |
| Reverse description | Two dromedary camels — one adult and one juvenile — stand facing left in the nickel-plated middle ring, rendered in bold relief against a plain field. The bronze-plated steel core at center displays a third camel in profile. The brass-plated outer ring is adorned with a repeating geometric pattern of traditional Mauritanian motifs; the Arabic legend of the Central Bank of Mauritania runs along the upper arc, while the Gregorian year of issue appears to the left and the denomination '20 OUGUIYA' in Latin script occupies the lower arc, punctuated by star stops. |
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| Additional information |
Mauritania's currency has operated outside the CFA franc zone since independence in 1973, when the ouguiya replaced the CFA franc at a rate of 5 ouguiya to 1 khoum — itself a subdivision retained from older Islamic monetary tradition. The trimetallic construction of this issue reflects a broader trend among West African central banks to deter counterfeiting through compositional complexity rather than security printing, a logical priority for a high-denomination circulating coin in a cash-dependent economy.