5 Pounds 15th Hijrah Century, Aluminium Essai

The 1979 Sudanese essais were produced as trial strikes to evaluate proposed designs and materials ahead of confirmed production runs — aluminium being tested here almost certainly for its low cost relative to the inflationary pressures Sudan was navigating in the late 1970s. The 15th Hijri Century commemorative theme marks the Islamic calendar's turn of a century, 1400 AH falling in 1979–1980 CE, which prompted several Muslim-majority states to issue commemorative coinage around this date.

Essais of this type typically exist in very small numbers, distributed among central bank archives and a handful of proof sets that reached the collector market through official channels.