Bahrain AH 1404 10 dinars
This specimen was lot 71580 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2023), where it sold for $960. The catalog description[1] noted, "BAHRAIN. 10 Dinars, AH 1404 (1983). Isa. NGC PROOF-66 Ultra Cameo. Commemorating the inauguration of Hamad Town. An unusual modern Proof with mirrored fields and deeply frosted devices. A welcome sight for collectors who are seeking this seldom encountered issue." The photo in the SCWC is of an entirely different coin. This NCLT seems to lack a denomination, which would make it a medal, not a coin. Wikipedia comments,
"Hamad Town was set up in 1984 as a 'housing town' where the government built council houses for those who could not afford the ever increasing house prices in other parts of the country. In 1990 the government opened the door of Bahrain to the Kuwaiti people who were suffering from the effects of the gulf war with Iraq. It provided free houses and schools in Hamad Town allowed them to use the town's facilities. The Kuwaitis returned home in early 1991 at the end of the war. In 2001 the government gave the council houses to the people of Hamad town for free."
Recorded mintage: unknown but all proofs.
Specification: 16 g, 0.917 fine gold, AGW: 0.4717 oz.
Catalog reference: Fr-5; KM X-3.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Unusual World Coins, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2011.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, May 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Featuring the Richard Elliott Collection of Hooknecks, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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