Saudi/Bahrain/UAE

Anyone else collect these countries?

 

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Nope.

But show us yours, and teach us something new!

 

Will do. . . . as soon as I get home, haha. I'll try to post them in an hour or so.

 

1950 Saudi 1G obv close by MrDSmith posted Jun 10, 2017 at 10:44 AM

1950 Saudi 1G rev close by MrDSmith posted Jun 10, 2017 at 10:44 AM

1950 Saudi 1G obv by MrDSmith posted Jun 10, 2017 at 10:44 AM

1950 Saudi 1G rev by MrDSmith posted Jun 10, 2017 at 10:44 AM

 

Pictures of some that may apply...

 

I would not say that I am a great fan of their coins. But I have some.

 

The Emirates had coffee on the obverse of their dirham, so they're good in my book, haha.

 

Looks like a cool coin.

Pretend I know nothing about it:

What is it (what even denomination is it... 1G?)? Is it rare? Why do you like it? How common is it? What are normal grades for these? Is yours really high grade, or average? What sort of challenges come with collecting these? Tell us about when you bought it. How does it fit with your set?

You seem to be interested in these coins, so here is your chance to get us excited about them!

 

2012 UAE

 

iG= One Guinea= 8.04 grams Gold similar to GB Guinea

The 1950s guineas are not uncommon but rare in grades of 66 and above.

I bought a couple a while back at spot +5% which was not bad at all

 

1945-46 Philadelphia Mint 4 Pounds....MS61 a bit harder to find.

 

I like Saudi coins, especially the cu/ ni stuff in Unc or high end AU. I've only ever found a few sources for these coins and suspect most are scarce or rare but at these low prices, who knows?

I've bought a few Bahrain or UAE special issues but have never even seen your gold piece before. Bahrain and UAE cu/ ni is tough in Unc as well but they come very gemmy when they are seen.

 

The Guinea coins are quite common except at high grades.

The problem is that there are only a few serious collectors for these coins, mostly ex-pats who want to take a piece of the history of the region with them. Many local people buy the coins but then destroy them through mishandling. Hence the scarcity of high end stuff. I acquired a very nice 1971 Apollo 14 coin with a mintage of only 550. Cannot imagine too many of these still survive in high grades. PR68 UC

 

Ajman N.C.L.T.

1969

 

Sharjah

Fantasy issue

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces14099.html

 

It's sad how poorly their coins are cared for. Whenever I go to a coin shop in Saudi or Bahrain, it's always the same thing. Cracked capsules, pvc albums with sold green coins, and all priced 10x more than they're worth, and that's when they're real. Counterfeits abound, but trying to tell them that is like insulting them. I've only purchased one coin in Saudi, and it was at a coin show from a single seller who was legit.

Add to that that the central banks don't have online stores, no shipping (not even within Arabia), and only certain banks sell numismatic items (during business hours when everyone is already working), and it can be very difficult to get what you want, even if you have the cash and are in the region.

The other difficult thing is the level of organization, or the absence of it. I went to the Central Bank of the UAE in Abu Dhabi, but the person who ran the museum and sold the commemoratives wasn't in, and no one knew why or where she was. I've requested to visit the money museum in Saudi (you can't just show up) multiple times, but no one has returned my emails/calls. Bahrain and Oman are better, but only once in a while do I get a weekday off to go, and then I'm basically shelling out $100-200 to pick up a coin.

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Its crazy but its easier to buy these coins in the US or through other auctions than through the Central Banks of the respective countries. I've always purchased my India, Saudi, UAE etc. coins from auctions. VERY few of the dealers are knowledgeable or honest and when you find a decent coin, like you said, they ask for many times the value. I've been lucky in the past, picking up some older sovereigns at bullion, but then again, they were not high grade.

Here's another one I got in auction. Half oz. 1980 UAE gold proof, mintage of only 3063 so I bought both coins on offer

 

Beautiful piece. If you ever want some circulation coinage from those areas (not India) shoot me a message and I'll see what I can get.

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Thanks.

 

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