Ajman was the smallest and poorest of the Trucial States, with virtually no oil revenue and a population under 5,000. From the late 1960s onward, its ruler Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid al Nuaimi authorized an aggressive program of commemorative issues — Gandhi among dozens of subjects ranging from Apollo astronauts to international statesmen — sold almost exclusively to overseas collectors rather than circulated locally. These coins were currency in name only, a revenue scheme made possible by the brief window between Trucial statehood and the formation of the UAE in 1971, after which Ajman lost its issuing authority entirely.
Ajman was the smallest and poorest of the Trucial States, with virtually no oil revenue and a population under 5,000. From the late 1960s onward, its ruler Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid al Nuaimi authorized an aggressive program of commemorative issues — Gandhi among dozens of subjects ranging from Apollo astronauts to international statesmen — sold almost exclusively to overseas collectors rather than circulated locally. These coins were currency in name only, a revenue scheme made possible by the brief window between Trucial statehood and the formation of the UAE in 1971, after which Ajman lost its issuing authority entirely.