Catalog
5 Afghanis
| Issuer | Ministry of Finance, Kingdom of Afghanistan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | P#7 |
| Obverse description | Printed in dark red on a fine guilloche underprint, the obverse carries the Afghan royal arms vignette at upper left and a circular seal vignette at upper right, both set within an ornate scalloped border frame. Multiple lines of Dari calligraphic text occupy the central field, including the denomination and issuing authority, with the Afghan solar calendar date 1305 appearing at lower left and lower right. Two manuscript signatures appear in the lower portion of the note, accompanied by an official ink seal at center. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in red, green, and orange on a fine guilloche underprint, the reverse is dominated by a large ornate toughra of King Amanullah Khan rendered in white-reserve calligraphy at center, surrounded by a scalloped guilloche border frame. The numeral '5' appears in medallions at each corner, and lines of Dari script legend are inscribed above and below the central vignette. The multicolor printing gives the note a distinctly layered appearance against the crosshatch background. |
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| Comments |
Afghanistan's 1926 Treasury notes predate the establishment of Da Afghanistan Bank by nearly three decades — the central bank wasn't founded until 1939, leaving the Ministry of Finance as the sole issuing authority during this period. The P#7 5 Afghani note falls within the reign of Amanullah Khan, whose modernization program included replacing the older rupee-denominated system with the afghani in 1925, a currency reform tied directly to Afghan assertions of full independence following the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919.
Surviving examples are genuinely scarce. Afghanistan's economic infrastructure at the time meant distribution was uneven, and storage conditions in the region were rarely kind to paper.