50 Rials

The Yemen Arab Republic's first banknote series, of which this 50 Rials forms part, was issued following the consolidation of the republican government after years of civil war that had drawn in both Egyptian and Saudi forces. Bradbury Wilkinson — the New Malden firm that printed for dozens of newly independent and post-conflict states through this period — supplied the complete series, a common arrangement where a government without established financial infrastructure relied entirely on an overseas security printer.

P#10 is among the scarcer denominations in the series. The watermark remains the sole mechanical security feature, which reflects both the era and the limited resources of a state still stabilizing its institutions.