One of my coworkers has what appears to be a 1950 (AH 370) Saudi Arabian Riyal which was made into a necklace after it was given to her father-in-law as a gift by a "shah" (most likely a Saudi Prince) who was visiting the US and used her father-in-law as a translator. This event likely occurred in the 1950s. However, it appears to be gold. Krause only lists a silver Riyal coin of this style and date. One other small caveat, flanking the "1" demonination are two "hyphens" which are not pictured on the 1935 coin shown in Krause. Can anyone confirm whether this was a circulation coin, a commemorative, or perhaps special gold coins made for the princes to give as gifts? Thanks, -A.
The coin you refer to must be this one (I don't have one, photo courtesy of World Coin Gallery): It is a gold guinea, issued only in 1950 AD, though for the Hijri date I think you meant to say AH 1370. Something like two million were minted. It should be the same diameter and weight as a British gold sovereign. A member of my family has a British gold sovereign received as a gift from an Egyptian dignitary in similar circumstances, so it appears to be a bit of a tradition in the Middle East.
I will say it before someone else chimes in, but we would need a pic of said piece. too date I can not find any that were gold, but i am still searching. EDIT: nothing too do with your particular coin but an interesting read none the less. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196901/the.riyal-a.miracle.in.money.htm also, here is an ebay link too what i think you have and yes i believe that acanthite is right with the identification being an AH 1370 and it contains .2354 of an ounce of gold. which roughly is a ¼ Oz of pure gold which equates too around $215-$230 since it has a hole in it i would take all numismatic factors of pricing out of the equation
acanthite, that is the coin exactly. And, yes, I did mean 1370; I accidently omitted the 1. jmc7938, my coworker wore it to work yesterday, and I had no camera but my cell phone. I did take pictures of it with the phone, but they are of insufficient quality to post. See the previous reply for a picture of the same coin, but the not the specific one in question. Thanks! -A.
