Morocco AH 1320 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, Berlin, and Birmingham. The denominations were mazunas and dirhams, with one dirham = 50 mazunas. The 'crown' denomination was one rial, which was equal to ten 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 1811 in Stephen Album sale 39 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2021), where it sold for $840. The catalog description[1] noted, "MOROCCO: 'Abd al- 'Aziz, 1894-1908, 5 dirhams, Paris, AH1320, a superb mint state example! PCGS graded MS65." The SCWC states that this issue is actually from the Berlin mint.
Recorded mintage: 2,500,000 + proofs.
Specification: 12.50 g, 0.835 fine silver, 32 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM Y-21.1, Lec-171.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th 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]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 39, featuring the John Sylvester, Jr., Collection of Annamese Medals and Orders, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
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