5 Rufiyaa FAO, Silver Proof Issue

The 1978 FAO coin program was one of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's most ambitious commemorative initiatives, commissioning dozens of member states to issue coins under the shared theme of food security and agricultural development. The Maldives — an archipelago with virtually no arable land and a subsistence economy built almost entirely on fishing and reef cultivation — made for an unusual participant in an agricultural awareness campaign.

KM#57a is the sterling silver proof variant of the base metal circulation issue. The FAO program generated both types simultaneously across most participating nations, with the proofs directed almost exclusively toward collector sales rather than any domestic monetary function.