The Bank Notes of Qatar

Peter Symes

First published in the

International Bank Note Society Journal

Volume 39, No.3, 2000

Qatar is a small country, with one of the smallest populations of any country in the world. With just over half a million people there is never a great need for large volumes of currency, and collectors can sometimes find it difficult to obtain various notes issued in this country – as connoisseurs of the bank notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board can attest.

            For a country relatively unfamiliar with paper currency until the early twentieth century, Qatar has managed to use the notes of several issuing authorities over a number of years. The first bank notes used by Qatar were Indian Rupees, a currency imposed on the local economy by the British following the signing of treaties between Britain and Qatar in 1916. The Indian Rupees were replaced by Gulf Rupees in May 1959. (The issue of Gulf Rupees is described in Volume 38, No.1, 1999 of this Journal.) Prior to the introduction of the bank notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board in 1966, bank notes of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency circulated from June to September 1966. The Riyals of the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board then circulated from 18 September 1966, until Qatar introduced its own currency authority. (The bank notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board are described in Volume 36, No.3, 1997 of this Journal.)

            Since Qatar introduced their own currency, just under thirty years ago, there have been three issues of paper money – two under the authority of The Qatar Monetary Agency and one under the authority of the Qatar Central Bank. While the three issues have been relatively straightforward, there are several varieties that make collecting these series a little more rewarding and, as will be described later, there are varieties of notes in the third series (and possibly the first series) that are yet to be catalogued.

            When Qatar became a sovereign state on 2 September 1971, the circulation of bank notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board continued for some time. However, on 22 February 1973, during a speech made on the first anniversary of his accession, the Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, announced plans for creating The Qatar Monetary Agency and foreshadowed the introduction of the Qatar Riyal. The Qatar Monetary Agency was subsequently established by Decree No. 7 of 1973 and, on 9 May 1973, Qatar and Dubai signed an agreement terminating the Qatar-Dubai Currency Agreement of 1966. Under the new agreement, the recently established Qatar Monetary Agency took over the assets and liabilities of the Currency Board with effect from 19 May 1973.

First Issue

The first bank notes issued by The Qatar Monetary Agency were released into circulation on 19 May 1973. Printed by the British security printers Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, the issue contained five denominations: 1, 5, 10, 100 and 500 riyals.

            The new notes were exchanged at par for the Riyals of the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board. The notes of the new and the old issuing authorities circulated concurrently for a ninety day period, after which all notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board were withdrawn from circulation. The old notes were then then redeemable only through The Qatar Monetary Agency (and later through the Qatar Central Bank). However, under Decree No. 69 of 1993, the deadline for the exchange of currency issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board was 30 June 1994.

            The new notes issued by The Qatar Monetary Agency carry a patterned front that always contains the State Crest of Qatar in a vignette to the right and a plain area for viewing the watermark to the left. In the top centre of each note is the title of the Qatar Monetary Agency, while immediately below is the denomination and the promissory clause, which are all written in Arabic. The promissory clause reads: ‘A bank note of guaranteed value according to law’. The denomination appears in each corner of the note in Arabic numerals. The notes are signed by Abdulaziz al-Thani, the Minister of Finance.

            Although the patterns on the front of each note are similar in style, each pattern is quite distinct and the colours are also different. The back of each note carries an illustration, around which is a pattern that also encloses the pale area reserved for viewing the watermark. The title of the issuing authority and the denomination are written in English, while the denomination appears several times in western numerals.

            The serial numbers on all notes of the first issue consist of a fractional serial number prefix followed by six numerals. The serial number prefix has the Arabic letter alif, the first letter of the alphabet, over a number. Each note carries a solid security thread and the head of a falcon as the watermark.

            Fluorescent ink is used on each denomination in varying manners. The 1-, 5- and 10-riyal notes have a narrow strip of fluorescent ink along the left-hand edge of the notes. Invisible in normal light, the strip glows yellow when the note is submitted to ultra-violet light. For the 100- and 500-riyal notes, a fluorescent security device is used. The device is the State Crest of Qatar, and it is located towards the bottom of the note below the signature, becoming apparent only when the note is submitted to ultra-violet light.

            In 1976, three years after the initial issue, the Qatar Monetary Agency introduced a 50-riyal note. The new note is designed in the same style as the other notes in the series. However, while the 50-riyal note has inks in the design that fluoresce, it does not have a specific fluorescent feature. It is at this stage that the possibility of varieties for some of the other denominations arises. The 100-riyal note is known to be issued with the fluorescent feature of the State Crest of Qatar (as described above). However, it has also been seen without this feature, but with patch of silver ink under the State Crest that only becomes apparent when the note is submitted to ultra-violet light. It is probable that stocks of several denominations, if not all, were supplemented by a second print run at the time that the 50-riyal note was introduced. It is possible that these notes had different fluorescent features to those of the first print run. Unfortunately, an insufficient sample of notes has been seen to draw any definite conclusions on this matter.

            The descriptions specific to each denomination of the first issue, including their reference numbers in the Standard Catalogue of World Paper Money (SCWPM), are:

Second Issue

The second issue of notes by the Qatar Monetary Agency was introduced into circulation in two releases. The first release consisted of just the 100-riyal note, and it was introduced on 15 May 1981. The remaining five denominations (1, 5, 10, 50 and 500 riyals) were released into circulation on 25 July 1981. On 25 October 1981 the notes of the first series were withdrawn from circulation. However, they remained redeemable at the Qatar Central Bank until 10 April 1996 (under the authority of Article 28 of Decree No.15 of 1993 which established the Qatar Central Bank).

            Printed by the British security printers Thomas de la Rue and Company, the notes of the second issue have a patterned front, distinctly different to their counterparts in the first series, and a new set of illustrations on their backs. The front of each note has the title of the issuing authority, the denomination, the promissory clause (which remains unchanged from the first issue) and the title of the signatory, all in Arabic in the centre of the note. The notes are once again signed by Abdulaziz al-Thani, the Minister of Finance. To the left is a pattern of vertical lines with the denomination of the note outlined in large Arabic numerals. This area also holds the watermark, which is once again the head of a falcon. To the right is the State Crest of Qatar, however, there is a slight difference to the crest used on this issue, when compared to that used on the first issue. On the second issue, the circle containing the dhow and the palm trees surmounts two crossed swords, whereas on the first issue the crossed swords are missing. The State Crest of Qatar certainly carries two crossed swords and it is not known why they were omitted from the first issue.

            The back of each note carries an illustration that covers most of the note, except for a patterned area to the right that is reserved for viewing the watermark. In the top right corner on the back of each note is a square pattern that registers perfectly with a similar design on the front of the note. All denominations carry a micro-printed security thread, with the micro-print reading ‘Qatar Monetary Agency’ (in English). The name of the issuing authority and the denomination are written on the back of the note in English.

            Each note in this series is printed on paper that contains fluorescent fibres. When submitted to ultra-violet light, the fluorescent fibres can be seen scattered evenly on the front and back of each note. In addition to the fluorescent fibres, the signature and serial numbers fluoresce a dark green colour when submitted to ultra-violet light. The final fluorescent feature is the denomination, which is printed in the centre of each note in large Arabic numerals that are invisible in normal light, but which fluoresce in ultra-violet light.

            Following the issue of these notes, there were complaints from the public concerning confusion in identifying the 1- and 100-riyal notes. This ultimately led to the re-issue, in 1985, of the 1-riyal note in different colours and with a different back. A point to observe when viewing the back of the new 1-riyal note, is that the design style most definitely belongs to the series of designs used for the notes of the first issue, and not those of the second issue. In this sense the new note is almost a ‘mule’, having its front designed in the style of the second issue and its back in the style of the first issue. It is quite probable that the back of the new note was a design suggested for the first issue but not used.

            Towards the end of the circulation of this series of bank notes, the Qatari authorities determined the need for additional 1- and 5-riyal notes. In preparing the paper for these notes, a new watermark of the falcon’s head was created, with certain features of the falcon’s head differing from the previous watermark. Most noticeable are the eyes, the nostril on the beak and a change in the line defining the top of the beak. Also noticeable on these later releases, is the increased brightness of the fluorescence of the denomination printed in fluorescent ink on the front of the notes. Perhaps less obvious, is the slight change in colours in the new notes. The changes are almost imperceptible, but are most noticeable in the purple intaglio ink on the 5-riyal notes and in the light shading in the centre of the 1-riyal note. These changes in shades of colour are of the type commonly found when comparing two different print runs of any series of bank notes.

            This issue of bank notes introduces a new sequence for the serial numbers. The serial numbers carry a fractional prefix followed by six numerals. The prefix consists of a letter over a number, with the letter being constant and the number incrementing for each million notes. Each denomination is assigned a letter of the Arabic alphabet for the constant letter in the prefix, with the highest denomination receiving the first letter of the ‘Abjad’ or ‘numeric’ sequence of the alphabet, the second highest denomination takes the second letter, the third highest denomination the third letter, and so on.

            The descriptions specific to each denomination are: 

Third Issue

On 5 August 1993, Decree No. 15 of 1993 established the Qatar Central Bank. The decree also abrogated the law establishing The Qatar Monetary Agency and any previously published provisions that were contrary to the new law. However, it was deemed necessary that the regulations by which The Qatar Monetary Agency had operated should remain in force until advised by the new Central Bank. On 10 October 1993 the Qatar Central Bank issued Decree No. 55 of 1993 directing that Decree No. 15 of 1993 was to come into effect on 18 October 1993. At the same time, the Decree advised that any directives previously issued by the Monetary Agency would remain in effect as long as they did not contradict the law establishing the Qatar Central Bank.

            Under the law establishing the Central Bank, all coins and bank notes issued by The Qatar Monetary Agency became the property of the Central Bank and continued to circulate unchanged for several years. On 22 June 1996 the Qatar Central Bank issued Qatar’s third series of bank notes. The notes of the second series were subsequently withdrawn from circulation commencing at the close of business on Thursday 19 September 1996. However, holders of these notes may redeem them at the Qatar Central Bank within ten years of this date.

            Printed by Thomas de la Rue and Company, notes of the third issue consist of the same six denominations as the previous two series. The notes of this series are in most respects the same as the notes they replaced, but there are several significant differences:

            ✦          the name of the Qatar Central Bank appears across the top of the notes

            ✦          the notes are now signed by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank

            ✦          the intaglio designs to either side of the signatures have been modified to allow space for the additional signature

            The serial numbers of this issue continue the sequence commenced in the previous issue; however, the serial number in the top left-hand corner of the 500-riyal note is now printed vertically, as opposed the previous issue (and in variance from the other notes of this issue) where it is printed horizontally. The 500-riyal note has been further modified to include a foil hologram in the top left-hand corner on the front of the note. The hologram contains the denomination of the note in Arabic numerals and the State Crest of Qatar.

            The notes of the third issue are signed by Abdulla al-Attya, the Governor of the Central Bank, and Mohammad al-Thani, the Minister of Finance, Economy and Commerce. All notes carry the new watermark of the falcon, which was introduced for the second printing of the 1- and 5- riyal notes (Nos. 13b and 8b) of the last series. The notes continue to be printed on paper with fluorescent fibres and to have the denomination printed in ink that is invisible in normal light, but which fluoresces under ultra-violet light. However, while the serial numbers fluoresce on all denominations, the signatures only fluoresce on the 1-, 5- and 10-riyal notes.

            The slightly different treatment of the higher and lower denomination notes continues with the use of security threads. The 50-, 100- and 500-riyal notes carry a foil security thread that has the denomination of the note cut out in Arabic characters. For example, the 50-riyal note has ‘50QR’ (50 Qatari Riyals) repeatedly cut out of the foil thread. The 1-, 5- and 10-riyal notes have a micro-printed thread, but there are two versions of the micro-printed thread used on these denominations, creating two varieties for each note. When this series of notes was first introduced, the micro-printed text on the security threads read ‘Qatar Monetary Agency’ – indicating that old stocks of paper were used for the early issues. Later issues of these three denominations carry a security thread with micro-printed text that reads ‘Qatar Central Bank’. (These varieties are not recorded in the Fifth Edition of Volume Three of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.) Specimen notes containing the security thread with ‘Qatar Central Bank’ micro-printed on it, have the following numbers in the serial number prefix:

            72 for 1 riyal

            20 for 5 riyals

            18 for 10 riyals

This suggests that notes with these numbers in the serial number prefixes are the first notes to carry the new thread, and this agrees with the known serial number prefixes for both varieties.

This article was completed in November 2000
© Peter Symes

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