Catalog
500 Rupees Allama Muhammad Iqbal
| Issuer | Government of Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1977 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse lettering | حکومت پاکستان 500 روپے 1977 |
| Reverse description | A three-quarter facing portrait of the poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal occupies the central field, depicted in contemplative pose with his hand raised to his chin. The birth year '1877' appears to the left of the portrait and the commemorative year '1977' to the right, flanking the effigy. A curved Urdu inscription in Nastaliq script runs along the lower arc of the field, reading 'صد سالہ تقریب پیدائش علامہ محمد اقبال' (Centenary of the Birth of Allama Muhammad Iqbal). A beaded border encircles the design. |
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Issued to mark the centenary of Allama Iqbal's birth in 1877, this was part of Pakistan's first substantive gold coinage program — a politically charged exercise for a government that had come to power via Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's ouster just months earlier. General Zia ul-Haq's martial law administration moved quickly to associate itself with Iqbal, whose pan-Islamic philosophy and reputation as the intellectual father of Pakistan provided useful legitimacy for a regime short on democratic credentials.
Fineness of .917 places this squarely in the 22-carat standard used across most Commonwealth commemorative gold issues of the period.