Dirham - Sidi Mohammed III 1st Standard, Marrakesh

Sidi Mohammed III came to power in 1757 determined to rebuild Moroccan commerce after decades of internal disorder under his predecessor Moulay Abdallah, who had been deposed and restored to the throne no fewer than five times. Part of that reconstruction involved standardizing the coinage — this dirham type being among the first emissions under his reformed monetary policy. He also expelled the Portuguese from Mazagan in 1769 and founded Mogador specifically as a controlled trading port, moves that reshaped the Atlantic economy of the sultanate entirely.

The Marrakesh mint was the most prolific of his early issues. KM#32.6 distinguishes this striking from the broader 32-series by mint notation alone.