Catalog
50 Riyals
| Issuer | Dar el-Mal |
|---|---|
| Year | 1846 |
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| Currency | Rial (1567-1891) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of an open laurel wreath with a blank oval reserve at centre, flanked symmetrically by floral sprays and two circular cartouches bearing Arabic denomination inscriptions. The upper margin carries a crescent device with Arabic text, and the entire field is bordered by an intricate geometric guilloche frame with corner ornaments. Multi-line Arabic text fills the lower half of the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | خمسون ريالاً |
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| Comments |
The Beylik of Tunis issued paper currency in 1846 under Ahmad Bey I, who had already begun modernizing the Tunisian military and state apparatus along European lines. This note predates the 1881 French protectorate by thirty-five years and represents one of the earliest paper money issues from the Arab world — the series to which this belongs was printed locally rather than contracted to a European firm, which is unusual for the period and the region.
The riyal was a money of account tied to Ottoman monetary conventions, and 50 of them represented a meaningful sum. Survival rate for the entire P#A2 series is extremely low.