50 Pounds 15th Hijrah Century, Gold Piedfort

Issued to mark the beginning of the fifteenth century of the Islamic calendar — 1400 AH fell in November 1979 — this piedfort was produced at a moment of acute political transition in Sudan. Numayri's government had just begun its sharp pivot toward Islamization, a process that would culminate in the 1983 imposition of sharia law. The commemorative program of which this piece forms part was partly an assertion of that ideological direction.

Piedforts of this type were struck in strictly limited numbers for presentation and collector purposes, never entering circulation. At twice the standard planchet thickness, the 33.93g weight reflects that format precisely.