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 an 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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