Catalog
5 Ouguiya small type
| Issuer | Banque Centrale de Mauritanie |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009-2012 |
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| Currency | Old Ouguiya (1973-2018) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse features the national emblem at center — a crescent surmounted by a five-pointed star flanked by two sprigs — with the Arabic numeral '٥' (5) inscribed centrally within the design. The denomination in Arabic script, '٥ أوقيات', appears within the central field, while the Hijri year '١٤٣٠' is integrated into the surrounding legend. A circular Arabic inscription reading 'البنك المركزي الموريتاني' (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie) runs along the periphery of the coin. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Mauritania's ouguiya is one of only two world currencies not based on the decimal system — divided into 5 khoums rather than 100 subunits, a structure rooted in traditional West African exchange ratios predating colonial monetary organization. The "small type" designation distinguishes this issue from the physically larger earlier brass pieces, a reduction carried out by the Banque Centrale as a cost-control measure during a period when global commodity prices made the original planchet specifications increasingly uneconomical.
Brass-plated steel replaced solid brass beginning with this type, a substitution common across Sahelian nations during the late 2000s commodity spike.