Morocco AH 1316-Pa 5 dirhams
The ruler Abdul al-Aziz succeeded his father Hassan I in AH 1311. He continued having coins struck in Paris, and added issues struck in London and Berlin. The denominations were mazunas and dirhams, with one dirham = 50 mazunas. The 'crown' denomination was one rial, which was equal to 10 dirhams. During this time, the ruler was honored on the coins not directly by name, but by a word or expression that alluded to him. This specimen was lot 33695 in Heritage sale 3049 (Long Beach, September 2016), where it sold for $199.75. The catalog description[1] noted, "Abd al-Aziz 5 Dirhams AH 1316 (1898) MS63 NGC. A broad selection with autumnal golds and reds that mottle the lustrous surfaces. Rarely-offered and very alluring in this Choice Mint State quality." This Paris mint product was issued AH 1314-1318.
Recorded mintage: 160,000, a better date.
Specifications: 14.558 g, 0.835 fine silver, 0.3908 oz ASW.
Catalog reference: KM Y12.2.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Gadoury, Victor, and George Cousinié, Monnaies Coloniales Françaises, 1670-1988, 2me Éd., Monaco: Éditions Victor Gadoury, 1988.
- Sanchez-Giron, J.M., Monedas de Marruecos, Ceuta, Spain: J.M. Sanchez-Giron, 1972.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach, Warren Tucker and David Michaels, Heritage World Coin Auction 3049, featuring the Ohio Valley Collection, the Redwood Collection and the F.P. Briand Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2016.
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