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500 Riyals
| Issuer | Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Thomas De La Rue & Company, London, United Kingdom |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of King Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud in three-quarter view occupies the right portion of the note against an intricate guilloche underprint in blue and green tones. A vignette of the Ka'aba within the Grand Mosque in Mecca is set to the left centre, framed by ornamental latticework panels. Arabic inscriptions giving the issuer name and denomination appear along the upper and lower margins, with the serial number printed twice in contrasting orientations. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | مؤسسة النقد العربي السعودي خمس مئة ريال |
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| Comments |
The P#30 series marked a significant modernization of Saudi paper currency, issued under SAMA at a time when the agency was actively updating its security specifications across high-denomination notes. Thomas De La Rue's involvement here is unremarkable in itself — they had printed for SAMA across multiple generations — but the 500 Riyal denomination carried particular weight as the highest-value note in everyday commercial use, making it a priority target for counterfeiters throughout the Gulf region in this period.
The security package on this issue is notably lean by the standards De La Rue was offering clients at the time. Later Saudi issues would incorporate color-shifting ink and more complex thread technology.