Catalog
20 Rials
| Issuer | Central Bank of Yemen |
|---|---|
| Year | 1971 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rial (1918-1974) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A panoramic cityscape vignette of Sanaa spans the full width of the note, rendered in fine line engraving in a blue-violet palette, with minarets, a domed mosque, and the surrounding mountain landscape visible across the composition. The denomination numeral '20' appears in each corner, with the issuer name arched across the top and the denomination in words along the lower border. A decorative guilloche border frames the entire design. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | the Arms of the Yemen Arab Republic |
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| Comments |
The Yemen Arab Republic's early banknote series presented an immediate logistical problem: the country had no printing infrastructure of its own, and the newly established Central Bank, created in 1971, needed a credible currency fast. Bradbury Wilkinson, by then one of the most experienced security printers in the world, had handled similar commissions across the decolonizing world for decades.
P#9 is the first 20 Rial denomination issued under the Central Bank — prior issues came from the Yemen Currency Board. A single watermark for security, nothing more sophisticated, which was unremarkable for the region at that date.