5 Dirhams - Hassan II 1st portrait

Morocco's 1965 coinage came at a moment of acute political tension — the forced exile and subsequent disappearance of opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka occurred that same year, triggering a diplomatic crisis that strained relations with France and the United States simultaneously. Hassan II had assumed the throne only in 1961 following Mohammed V's sudden death, and the first-portrait dirham issues were part of a deliberate assertion of dynastic continuity under his own image rather than his father's.

The .720 silver alloy placed this issue below sterling fineness, a practical concession to silver market pressures that would ultimately doom the series — Morocco abandoned silver coinage entirely within a few years.