KUWAIT CURRENCY--DINAR

Money that has passed through the centuries

In the ancient world, Kuwait was one of the countries that used the Greek currency. Here is the story of how this currency got into Kuwait. The army of Alexander the Great advanced along the coasts of Phenicia and Palestine and through Mesopotamia, Persia, and India until it reached China. Then Alexander returned to Babylon, founded the capital there and sent a detachment of his troops to establish garrisons in places located along the line of its borders.

Kuwait's Failaka Island was one such place; it was called "Ikarus", according to the Greek tradition of giving Greek names to conquered places. After the death of Alexander, his generals divided his empire into provinces. Failaka Island was turned into an independent state by General Seleucus. On this territory were discovered the remains that have come down to us since the Seleucid era - among which the most interesting was coins. Thirteen ancient Greek coins of the four drachma groups were found. Among them was a coin, on one side of which was an image of the head of the emperor Seleucia, Antiochus III (223-187 BC), and on the back was an image of the Greek god Apollo, protector and keeper of the Seleucid family. The

remaining coins were depicting Hercules holding the skin of the Neiman lion on one side and the image of the Olympic god Zeus on the throne on the other side.

The Abbasid Coin System in Kuwait

The Islamic coin system was widespread in Kuwait, in which there were no portraits on the coins. Ancient merchants took this money with them on trips. Their path lay along the coast from the south of the Arabian Peninsula to the north, through Kuwait. During excavations, a

fragment of the dirham coin, dating from the Abbasid era, was found in the area, with the words “Mohammed, the messenger of God who correctly directed it” coined at the edges. A large collection of Unmade and Abbasid coins was also discovered here. It is safe to say that the Islamic currency remained the main currency in Kuwait until the 19th century. After that, the Turkish lira became one of the main currencies in Kuwait, as in the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Gold lyre, silver meridional, by lashing, and bar were the main monetary units of this currency. But the Turkish currency has been subject to various restrictions by the East Indian Company, which sought to separate Kuwait from the Ottoman state by encouraging close trade ties with India. This directed Kuwaiti trade towards India. Kuwaiti merchants preferred to use Indian rupees in their commercial operations. Another currency used in Kuwait from 1790 to 1920 was Maria Theresa Rial, called the local French dollar. This currency in denominations of 2.5 rupees was gradually replaced by the Indian rupee and was completely replaced by the latter in 1920.

Special rupees for the Persian Gulf until 1959

Indian currency remained the only currency used in Kuwait. The Indian government issued a declaration announcing that it will replace the banknotes with new special banknotes that are different in color. Subsequently, new banknotes, Special Rupee for the Persian Gulf, became the only legal tender in Kuwait. New rupees accelerated the release of Kuwait's independent national currency. The Emir’s decree in 1960 promulgated the Kuwaiti Currency Act, which declared the Kuwaiti dinar a new currency. The law also provided for the establishment of the Monetary Committee to control the issuance of new currency.

Second edition

After the death of His Highness Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and the accession to the throne of His Highness Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, the Central Bank issued new paper notes with a portrait of Emir and color illustrations. Six round coins of various denominations, sizes, weights and types, issued earlier, have not been replaced. Third issue After the accession to the throne of His Highness Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in 1978, the Central Bank again issued new paper bills with the state emblem and various slogans on the back.

New issues

New issues were introduced after the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation, and old ones were removed from circulation.

The first national currency

first attempt to issue an independent Kuwaiti currency was made in 1886, when His Highness Emir Sheikh Abdullah II Al-Sabah ordered the minting of copper money, Kuwaiti paisas, in Kuwait. On one side of the coin, there was an inscription: “It was struck in Kuwait”, on the other side was the signature of Sheikh Abdullah. Initially, this currency had to be minted in order to establish Kuwait’s independence, but only functioned for several months (it was replaced by Indian paisa). Another attempt to issue Kuwait's national money was made in 1950 when oil exports began. It was not successful, because the authorities wanted the currency to be at par with the currency in the rest of the world, but at that time it was impossible. Before the Indian rupee was replaced by the Kuwaiti dinar in 1961, the official delegation of the Kuwaiti Monetary Committee went to India to negotiate an exchange with the Indian treasury and return the accumulated Indian rupees. The replacement operation lasted eight weeks, during which workers of Kuwaiti banks replaced 342 million rupees with Kuwaiti dinars in denominations of 25, 646, 110, day and night, according to the value of both currencies. The Indian rupee has been in circulation in Kuwait for over 100 years. A new currency consisting of paper money and coins carries a portrait of His Highness Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah and symbols of Kuwait's progress of that time.