Trial pieces for Moroccan coinage of this period were produced in Paris at the Monnaie de Paris, which held the contract for Moroccan silver strikes through the late nineteenth century. This reverse trial — struck in white metal rather than the intended silver — represents a step in the approval process between the Makhzen and the French mint, where design submissions were evaluated before full production authorization.
Moulay al-Hasan I ruled from 1873 to 1894, a period of intense European commercial pressure on Morocco. Coinage reform was partly a diplomatic signal.
Trial pieces for Moroccan coinage of this period were produced in Paris at the Monnaie de Paris, which held the contract for Moroccan silver strikes through the late nineteenth century. This reverse trial — struck in white metal rather than the intended silver — represents a step in the approval process between the Makhzen and the French mint, where design submissions were evaluated before full production authorization.
Moulay al-Hasan I ruled from 1873 to 1894, a period of intense European commercial pressure on Morocco. Coinage reform was partly a diplomatic signal.