Kuwait 1981 5 dinars
This specimen was lot 3955 in Steve Album Auction 53 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2025), where it sold for $80. The catalog description[1] noted, "KUWAIT: Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, 1977-2006, AR 5 dinars, 1981, 20th Anniversary of Independence, a few light hairlines, mintage of only 10,000 pieces, Proof, ex Dr. Wolfgang Schuster Collection." Kuwait, a sheikhdom on the Persian Gulf, was long under the domination of the Ottoman Turks. As the Turkish grip relaxed in the late nineteenth century, Kuwait fell under the "protection" of Great Britain, which used it as a base until 1961, when British troops evacuated and Kuwait was granted independence. The modern coinage dates from that time, wherein 1000 fils = 1 dinar. This NCLT, which celebrates that independence, oddly shows only the AD date and not the AH date (1401). The similar gold 100 dinars (KM 17) shows the same feature.
Recorded mintage: 10,000 proofs.
Specification: 28.28 g, 0.925 fine silver, 38.6 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-18.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Hanbing Feng, Auction 53, featuring Selections from the Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld, Almer H. Orr III, Dr. Dirk Loer and Joe Sedillot Collections, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2025.
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