Hijaz-Mecca Coins & Paper Money

HIJAZ, MECCA Coins & Paper Money

**KINGS**
Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi 10.6.1916 to 3.10.1924 © Royal Hashemite Court	Ali ibn Hashimi 3.10.1924 to 19.12.1925

Mecca KM.5, C.50 1/2 Mahmudi AH1240(1824)* Enlarge	Reverse Enlarge
Hejaz KM.26, Y.21 1/2 Piastre AH1334(1915) Year 8 Enlarge	Reverse Enlarge
The Mecca coin above is the only known example of this piece, while the Hijaz coins is one of two known examples. * This attribution has been questioned by an expert.

Printer: Gravé et Imprimé par Draeger, Paris

**ARABIAN NATIONAL BANK OF HEDJAZ, AH23.SHAWAL.1343(1924), SPECIMENS**
P.1 1/2 Pound	Reported but not confirmed Images Needed
P.2S 1 Arabian Pound *	Back
P.3S 5 Arabian Pounds *	Back
P.4S 10 Arabian Pounds *	Back
P.5S 50 Arabian Pounds *	Back
P.6S 100 Arabian Pounds *	Back
Watermark *	The watermark at left is found on all of the above SPECIMEN notes.

ARABIAN NATIONAL BANK OF HEDJAZ, AH23.SHAWAL.1343(1924),
REMAINDERS & MODERN COPIES
P.1 1/2 Pound	Reported but not confirmed Images Needed
P.2R 1 Pound Enlarge Supersize	Back Enlarge Supersize
P.2C 1 Pound Modern Copy	Back Modern Copy
P.3 5 Pounds
P.4 10 Pounds
P.5 50 Pounds
P.6R 100 Pounds Ex. Ted Uhl Collection	Watermark on Ted Uhl 100 Pound note at left

**ARABIAN NATIONAL BANK OF HEDJAZ, 1929 CHECK**
	HEJAZ. Arabian National Bank of Hedjaz. 1929. All slightly used with payers (?) name at right edge, one in English (Daira Hoirs Prince Habib. Pacha Lotfal...), the others in Arabic and all signed by Michel Lotfallah. An interesting group, some in Arabic and some in French. Wm Rosenblum Sale 36C, lot 752 May 26, 2006 $100

**BACKGROUNDER & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT**
Hijaz banknotes are among the most sought after and rarest known to collectors. A complete SPECIMEN set is housed in the Jordan Central Bank Museum and just a few other pieces are reported in private collections. King Farouk had a four pieces in his collection, two of which are now believed to be in North America. A few years ago a collector from Central Europe visited the museum and made a copy of these notes. He then reproduced them and sold them on eBay. The images above of a £1 note is one of these reproductions. Numismatists Peter Symes was also bitten by the Hijaz bug and wrote a wonderful book about these fascinating issues, referenced below. Peter has a unique ability to find obscure information somehow hidden for decades and portray it in a way that captures us all. Hijaz had a brief period of political independence starting in 1916 when it was proclaimed by Hussein ibn Ali, the Sherif of Makkah. In 1925 ibn Ali's authority was usurped by ibn Saud of the neighboring state of Nejd and became known as the Kingdom of Hijaz and Nejd, later Saudi Arabia. Sherif Ali's sons were more successful becoming the first rulers of Trans-Jordan(Abdullah), Syria(Faisal) and Iraq(Faisal). * We gratefully acknowledge numismatist, researcher and author Peter Symes for providing the above SPECIMEN images.

**SPECIALIZED BOOKS**
	HABIB LOTFALLAH and the ARABIAN NATIONAL BANK OF HEDJAZ by Peter Symes Booklet, A5 size, soft cover, 52 pages, all notes illustrated in full colour US $20.00 posted air mail worldwide. Contact:

**HIJAZ LINKS**
	Habib Lotfallah and the Arabian National Bank of Hedjaz
	The Great Arab Revolt
	World Statesmen-Hijaz
	T.E. Lawrence Society
	Global History of Currencies- Saudi Arabia
	CIA World Factbook - Saudi Arabia

© Garry Saint, Esquire 1999-2009