Muscat and Oman AH 1390 saidi rial
This specimen was lot 33102 in Heritage sale 3089 (Dallas, TX, January 2021), where it sold for $4,080. The catalog description[1] noted, "Muscat & Oman. Sa'id bin Taimur gold Proof Saidi Rial AH 1390 (1970) PR68 NGC. Struck for presentation purposes in a low mintage of only 350 pieces." Oman, long a British protectorate, was a sultanate known as Muscat and Oman until it achieved full independence in 1971. She has watched enviously as her neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, harvest billions of dollars by selling oil, of which little occurs in Omani territory. The sultan, Sa'id bin Taimur, was overthrown by his son the year this was issued. It was accompanied by a half saidi rial, also struck in gold (KM 34a).
Recorded mintage: 350.
Specification: 46.65 g, 0.916 fine gold, AGW 1.3738 oz.
Catalog reference: KM 31b.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Cristiano Bierrenbach and Warren Tucker, Heritage World Coin Auction 3064, featuring the Doug Robins Collection of Canadian Tokens, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2018.
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