Falus - Moulay 'Abd al-Rahman 3rd Standard, Marrakesh

Moulay 'Abd al-Rahman ruled Morocco through a period of mounting European pressure — most acutely after the French defeat of Moroccan forces at the Battle of Isly in 1844, which effectively ended any Moroccan ambition of influencing Algerian resistance. The falus denominations struck at Marrakesh during his final years circulated through an economy increasingly penetrated by foreign silver, and the bronze coinage was already being marginalized by the time of his death in 1859. The Marrakesh mint's output was never uniform; weight and flan quality varied considerably between striking sessions, a known characteristic of the series rather than evidence of damage or post-mint alteration.