50 Dinars 2005 Coup d'état 18th Anniversary, Arabic legend

This coin marks the 18th anniversary of the November 7, 1987 coup in which Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali removed the ailing Habib Bourguiba from power, declaring him mentally unfit to govern — a medical certificate signed by seven doctors provided the constitutional cover. Ben Ali initially presented the takeover as a correction rather than a rupture, promising democratic reforms he largely never delivered. The Banque Centrale issued commemoratives on this date annually, a practice that continued until Ben Ali himself was ousted in January 2011, the opening event of the Arab Spring.