Hejaz - Hussein bin Ali, AH1339-AH1342 (ca.1921-1925), Regular Coinage

Set Description
Hejaz is a province of Saudi Arabia and formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1916, Hussein bin Ali, Emir of Mecca, led the Great Arab Revolt against the Turks, forming the Kingdom of Hejaz. The kingdom, however, was short-lived as it was conquered by Abd Al-Aziz bin Saud in 1925, combining it with Nejd and eventually forming Saudi Arabia.


Sherif Hussein bin Ali


Initially, coins of other governments were countermarked (e.g. Paras of the Ottoman Empire, Maria Theresa Thalers, etc.) and used in circulation. Countless forgeries of these exist and in many instances even experts on Islamic coins cannot say with certainty whether a coin is genuine or not. In any case, Hejaz began issuing its own regular coins around 1921, which brings us to the subject of this set. All of the regular coins of Hejaz bear the accessional date AH1334 of Hussein bin Ali, in addition to the regnal year. Many of the bronze coins occur with a light silver wash that is more evident on thicker specimens. The coins can be split into two groups:

# Regnal Years 5 and 6 # (ca. 1921-1922)
These earlier coins are generally very crude, with numerous varieties in terms of planchet thickness, edge type (reeded / plain), and even planchet diameter. Only the 1/8 Piastre, 1/4 Piastre, 1/2 Piastre, and 1 Piastre coins existed in this period.

# Regnal Years 8 and 9 # (ca. 1924-1925)
These later coins included a new, redesigned bronze 1/4 Piastre, 1/2 Piastre, and 1 Piastre. More importantly, new higher values were introduced in circulation: 5 Piastres, 10 Piastres, 20 Piastres, which were struck in silver, as well as a 1 Dinar ("Dinar Hashimi") which was struck in gold.

Set Goals
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