Budju - Abdel Kader

The Emirate of Abd al-Qadir was an improvised state built under sustained French military pressure in western Algeria, and its coinage reflects that urgency. The Budju was struck at Tlemcen or Tagdempt — the emirate's mobile administrative centers shifted as French forces advanced — using dies cut by local craftsmen working outside any established mint tradition.

Abd al-Qadir surrendered to the French in 1847, ending the emirate entirely. Coins from the final years of issue, including this 1840 piece, circulated through a population actively at war.