2 1/2 Dirhams - Moulay al-Hasan I Pattern

Pattern coinage for Moulay al-Hasan I's proposed decimal-adjacent reform series was struck in Paris at the Monnaie de Paris, as Morocco lacked the technical infrastructure to produce its own trial pieces. This particular denomination — an awkward fractional that never entered circulation — reflects the negotiated compromise between the Sultan's treasury officials and French monetary advisors pushing for a more rationalized coinage system in the Alaoui monetary structure of the late 19th century.

The reform stalled. Morocco would not see a fully reorganized coinage until the protectorate period decades later, leaving pieces like this one frozen mid-process.