500 Riyals

Qatar's 2003 banknote series was the first issued under the Qatar Central Bank following its formal separation from the Qatar Monetary Agency, which had managed currency since 1973. The 500 Riyal was the highest denomination in that series — a denomination that, at contemporary exchange rates, represented a substantial sum even by Gulf standards, and one not intended for routine retail circulation.

Thomas De La Rue's production for Gulf states during this period was consistent but unflashy by the firm's own standards. The security specification here — watermark and thread only — is notably light for a high-value note from this decade, when many comparable issues were already incorporating color-shifting ink or holographic strips.