The Bank Notes of the United Arab Emirates

Peter Symes

The introduction of a national currency to the United Arab Emirates can be linked to developments in the Arabian Gulf in the years prior to the formation of the new state. As the ‘Trucial States’, all emirates had adopted the Indian rupee as their official currency. Under British tutelage the Indian rupee had been in use from the late nineteenth century. While many other currencies circulated in these states, particularly local currencies, the Indian rupee had become a standard by which other currencies could be measured.

              In 1959 the Government of India introduced special notes for circulation in the states of the Persian Gulf, in an effort to halt the smuggling of Indian rupees to the Gulf region and the smuggling of gold from the Gulf to India. These special notes, which were coloured differently to the notes circulating in India and not legal tender in India, became known as ‘External rupees’ or ‘Gulf rupees’. The Gulf rupees circulated successfully for a number of years in the states of the Arabian Gulf, but there was concern amongst the states that their economy was irrevocably linked to the fortunes of the Indian rupee (to which the Gulf rupee was directly linked). In an effort to remove their reliance on the Gulf rupee, several attempts were made by the Gulf states to introduce their own currency. After an abortive attempt to introduce a single currency for Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial States, Qatar and Dubai formed an alliance, in 1966, that resulted in the creation of the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board. The Qatar & Dubai riyal was subsequently introduced on 18 September 1966 and circulated in Qatar, Dubai and the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Quwain, Ras al Khamiah and Fujairah. The only Trucial State not to adopt the riyal of the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board was Abu Dhabi, which chose to replace their Gulf rupees with the currency of Bahrain.

              On 2 December 1971 the six emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Quwain and Fujairah united to create the federation of the United Arab Emirates. They were joined on 11 February 1972 by the seventh emirate, Ras al Khamiah. Following the creation of the United Arab Emirates, the currencies of Bahrain and the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board continued to circulate within the federation. However, work soon commenced on the creation of a monetary authority and a new currency, with this work culminating in the creation of the United Arab Emirates Currency Board on 19 May 1973. The Currency Board was established under Union Law No. 2 of 1973.

The First Issue

The first banknotes issued by the United Arab Emirates Currency Board were released on 20 May 1973. The notes were scheduled to be introduced on 19 May 1973 but the banks remained closed on that day, presumably to prepare for the introduction of the new currency. As the Currency Board was not yet operating, the responsibility for issuing the new currency was passed to the Abu Dhabi National Bank.

              Printed by the British security printers Thomas De La Rue and Company, the first banknotes issued by the United Arab Emirates Currency Board contained denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 dirhams. The new notes replaced the riyals of the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board at par, while the new dirham was equivalent to 0.1 Bahraini dinars.

              Following the introduction of the new currency in 1973, the dinars of Bahrain and the riyals of the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board continued to circulate in the United Arab Emirates for several months. The riyal of the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board subsequently lost its legal tender status on 18 August 1973 and the Bahraini dinar similarly ceased to hold its legal tender status on 18 November 1973. However, these notes were accepted for exchange by the banks until 30 November 1973.

              On 22 December 1975, two and a half years after the notes had been introduced, the Currency Board announced that, due to excessive wear, no further supplies of the 1-dirham notes would be made available to the retail banks from 3 January 1976. At the same time they announced that a 1000-dirham note would be introduced, also on 3 January 1976.

              All notes of the first issue carry a common front, differing only in colour, size, and representation of the specific denomination. On the front are geometric patterns with a pale circular area to the right, which holds the watermark of a horse’s head, and a circular vignette to the left. The vignette contains an outline of the coast of the United Arab Emirates, over which is written in Arabic ‘United Arab Emirates’. Above the outline of the coast is a dhow and below are four camels and a camel driver. To the left of the vignette is a palm tree, to the right is an oil derrick and below is a string of pearls. The notes have a solid security thread (to the left of centre) and are signed by the Chairman of the Currency Board (رئيس مجلس النقد), Sheikh Hamad bin Rashid al Maktoum (who was also the Minister of Finance and Industry).

              The back of each note carries an illustration of a building or scene from one of the emirates. There are seven emirates but only six notes, with Ras al Kamiah being the only emirate not represented. This is possibly due to it being the last emirate to join the federation and it is probable that the design of the notes was approved prior to Ras al Khamiah joining the union. The building illustrated on the 1-dirham note is the fort in Sharjah as it appeared in the early 1970s. Having been at one time the residence of the Amir, it became the headquarters of the Sharjah police force. When modern Sharjah was being built, the fort was considered by the planners to be expendable and was demolished. The young Amir of Sharjah was at this time studying in Egypt, but when news of the destruction of the fort reached him, he rushed home to supervise the rebuilding of the fort. The Sharjah fort is now a museum, nestled between the modern office blocks of the new city. To the far right, of the relatively modern façade of the building depicted on the banknote, can be seen the old tower of the fort, while some of the cannon used in the fort are displayed in front of the building. To the immediate right of the fort is a clock tower that is located in Sharjah. This clock tower is one of two clock towers in Sharjah and, at a time when there were few noteworthy buildings or monuments in Sharjah, this was a distinctive landmark.

              The 5-dirham note carries an illustration of Fort Bithna. Bithna is a small village in Fujairah and the fort was quite important until quite recent times, as it controlled access from the west into Fujairah. However, a new road has been built which largely bypasses Bithna and, in these modern times, the fort no longer serves as a strategic point of defence. The fort is one of the better kept forts in the United Arab Emirates and, because it is a little distance from the road, is not visited as much as some other forts.

              The 10-dirham note shows an aerial view of Umm al-Qaiwain, one of the northern emirates. Umm al-Qaiwain is one of the smallest of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, and is the least populous. The aerial view shows the position of the town on a peninsula of sand.

              The 50-dirham note depicts the Amir’s palace at Ajman. Inspection of the illustration will deduce that the building is actually quite modest and this is an indication of the general state of development in the Emirates in the early 1970s. If this is the best example of architecture in Ajman at the time the notes were prepared, then Ajman was relatively poor.

              On the back of the 100-dirham note is a view of Khorfakkan, a port in Fujairah on the east coast of the Emirates. However, although Khorfakkan is located in Fujairah, it is actually a dependency of Sharjah, which means that Sharjah is represented twice on the banknotes (i.e. once by the fort and clock tower on the 1-dirham note and again by the view of Khorfakkan). Khorfakkan has, at various times in the history of the Arabian Peninsula, been an important trading and administrative centre. Today it is the location of the only port in the United Arab Emirates that is outside the Arabian Gulf. The scene on the banknotes is observed from the vegetable and fish souk, close to the port.

              The 1000-dirham note carries two illustrations on its back – one is the Jahili fort at Al Ain in Abu Dhabi and the other is al-Fahidi Fort in Dubai. Jahili Fort was built in 1898 by Sheikh Zayid bin Khalifa al Nahyan (1855-1909) to defend the palm groves around the oasis. It is built of mud-brick, stones and palm-tree products. Additions to the fort were made in 1966, when an Officer’s Mess was built around the existing top storey and another storey added. However, what is most notable about the fort is that it is the birth place of Shaikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan , the present Amir of Abu Dhabi (and President of the United Arab Emirates). Al-Fahidi Fort in Dubai is one of the oldest forts in the United Arab Emirates. Used over time as an arsenal, a residence, and a gaol, the building was converted to Dubai’s museum and opened to the public in 1971. A large area under and adjacent to the fort has been excavated to create a thoroughly modern museum with entertaining displays. Depicted on the banknote beside al-Fahidi Fort is the minaret of the Grand Mosque of Dubai. The mosque and minaret have since been pulled down and rebuilt (1998), with the minaret of the new mosque erected in the same position.

              The 1000-dirham note was subject to a number of counterfeiting attempts during the period of its issue. The most successful counterfeit was a note that was (probably) a lithograph print. The counterfeits could be identified by the vignette to the left on the front of the note. On the genuine notes, the palm tree and oil derrick, to the left and right of the vignette, are printed by the intaglio process and overlap the lithographic design. On the counterfeits, the palm tree and oil derrick are printed entirely within the white areas to either side of the vignette. (There were other small errors in the design, but this is the easiest way to identify the notes of the principal counterfeit attempt.)

              The serial numbers on the banknotes in this series consist of a prefix having a one or two digit number and a letter, followed by a six digit number (with all characters written in Arabic). The Arabic letter used in the prefix is constant for each denomination, and each denomination is assigned a separate letter. The letters assigned to each denomination are:

The letters chosen for the serial number prefixes follow the ‘numeric’ sequence of the Arabic alphabet. Each letter of the Arabic alphabet has a numeric value and the letters used for the serial number prefixes are the letters with the corresponding values of 1 to 6, i.e. ا = 1, ب = 2, ج = 3, et cetera.

              Replacement notes for this series exist and it is believed that the six letters with the highest values in the numeric sequence of the Arabic alphabet are used to identify the replacement notes. The 1-dirham replacement notes carry a serial number prefix with the letter ‘غ’, which is the letter with the highest value in the ‘numeric’ sequence of the alphabet, and the 5-dirham replacement notes use the letter ‘ظ’, which has the second-highest value. It is likely that the 10-dirham notes use ‘ض’, the 50-dirham notes use ‘ذ’, the 100-dirham notes ‘خ’ and the 1000-dirham notes ‘ث’, as these are the letters with descending values. The paucity of surviving replacement notes makes the determination difficult, but it is more than probable that this is the case.

The Second Issue

Following the steady growth of the economy of the United Arab Emirates, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates was established in December 1980, subsuming the duties of the United Arab Emirates Currency Board. Following this initiative, plans were made for the release of new banknotes issued under the responsibility of the new authority. The new issue was subsequently released over several months in 1982. This emission of banknotes consisted of five denominations: 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 dirhams. The 5- and 10-dirham notes were placed into circulation on 1 September 1982, followed by 50- and 100-dirham notes on 20 November 1982, and finally by the 500-dirham note on 8 December 1982. A 1000-dirham note was prepared for this series but never released. Specimen notes of this denomination survive and depict a dhala, a traditional coffee jug, on the front of the note.

              Each note in this series has a watermark of the head of a sparrow-hawk and a micro-printed security thread running vertically to the right of centre. The micro-printed text on the security threads reads ‘U.A.E.’, however, there are two varieties of micro-printed text. The 5-, 50- and 500-dirham notes have the letters ‘U.A.E.’ printed quite close together and each group of three letters is also quite close together. In this variety it is sometimes difficult to identify the periods following each letter. The 10- and 100-dirham notes have the letters ‘U.A.E.’ spaced further apart and each group of three letters is also spaced further apart.

              Each note in this series carries two latent images of their denomination, to the lower left and right, and each note carries two fluorescent security devices. To the left, over the watermark, is the Saladin eagle, which forms the coat of arms for the United Arab Emirates, while in the centre is the denomination of the note. (These two fluorescent features can only be viewed by the use of ultra-violet light.) In addition to these two features, the serial numbers fluoresce dark green when submitted to ultra-violet light.

              The notes of this series, unlike their predecessors, do not have a common design on the front of each denomination. Instead, different patterns are used on each note and an illustration appears to the right, on the front of each note, as well as the back. It is interesting that no attempt has been made to represent an aspect of each emirate on the notes, as was done in the Currency Board issues. Most emirates are not represented with images on the notes and many of the identifiable buildings can be found in Dubai.

              The front of the 5-dirham note shows a façade of the Blue Souk in Sharjah, while a view of the Bay of Khorfakkan, accompanied by an unidentified building in the foreground, is depicted on the back. The Blue Souk was designed by the Amir of Sharjah and is an extensive complex of retail outlets. The building is notable for incorporating traditional wind-towers in the design (although these are not apparent in the illustration on the banknote). On the back of the note, the port facilities of Khorfakkan can be seen attached to a rocky promontory at the end of the bay, beyond which are two mountainous islands.

              The 10-dirham note depicts a traditional dagger, called a Khanjar, on its front. Such traditional weapons are now museum items but, when worn, they were as much a part of traditional dress as a weapon of defence. The back of the note displays a montage of agricultural products. A date palm is int the foreground, while behind is an orchard and garden beds—depicting the ideal farm.

              The head of an oryx is on the front of the 50-dirham note, while the Jahili Fort at al-Ain makes a re-appearance on the back of the note. The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is a type of antelope that once roamed the Arabian peninsula as far as Jordan. It became extinct in the wild during the 1960s, as local hunters began using vehicles to pursue the animals. A number of private herds kept the oryx from extinction and today it is being re-introduced into its natural environment by a number of countries in the peninsula, including the United Arab Emirates. The distinctive horns, found on male and female oryx, are well illustrated on the banknote.

              The 100-dirham note depicts the entrance to al-Fahidi Fort on its front, while the Dubai World Trade Centre is depicted on the back. The Trade Centre tower is one of the tallest buildings in the Gulf region. Opened in 1979, it is 184 metres tall and has thirty-nine floors of which twenty-eight are for offices. The complex includes a convention and exhibition centre and hotel apartments. It was a major accomplishment when completed and it remains an imposing feature of the Dubai skyline; although similar buildings are now being erected in the vicinity.

              The front of the 500-dirham note is dominated by the head of a sparrow-hawk and the Jumeirah Mosque in Dubai appears on the back of the note. The beautiful and distinctive Jumeirah Mosque is built of stone in the style of medieval Fatimid buildings, with twin minarets and an imposing dome. The mosque was built to celebrate the start of the fifteenth century of the Muslim calendar. Micro-printed text was introduced to the notes of the United Arab Emirates on this 500-dirham note. Within the design below the title of the Bank, on the back of the note, is a line of micro-printing which repeats ‘United Arab Emirates Central Bank’.

              The introduction of a 500-dirham note was accompanied by the withdraw the 1000-dirham note of the Currency Board. The decision to withhold the issue of a new 1000-dirham note and to withdraw all notes of this denomination in circulation was undoubtedly due, in part, to the counterfeiting of the Currency Board’s 1000-dirham note. Although the other denominations of the Currency Board were withdrawn over time, it is understood they were not withdrawn with the same alacrity as the 1000-dirham notes.

              All notes of this series are signed by Sheikh Suroor bin Mohamed al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors (رئيس مجلس الادارة), and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, the Minister of Finance (وزنر المبلية). The serial numbers for the notes of this series carry a prefix followed by a six digit number. The prefix consists of a one- or two-digit number followed by a letter and separated by a solidus (/); e.g. a serial number for a 500-dirham note is ٠٧٧٢٤٥ب/٨. Each denomination is assigned a letter to be used in the prefix, with the assignations being:

The order of the letters is strict alphabetical order, ignoring the practice of the previous issue of using the ‘numeric’ sequence of the alphabet. In addition, the letters are assigned to the denominations by descending order of value, whereas in the previous issue the order was ascending by value.

The 200-Dirham Note

On 30 November 1989 a 200-dirham note was issued by the Central Bank. The front of the note carries illustrations of two modern buildings in Abu Dhabi: the stadium at the Sheikh Zayid Sports City and the Sharia Court building. The Sheikh Zayid Sports City is the major sporting complex in the United Arab Emirates and is the largest sporting centre in the Middle east. As well as housing the national stadium, there are numerous smaller sporting venues as well as the headquarters of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the UAE Soccer Association. The Sports City was designed so that it could be turned into an Olympic village. The stadium, depicted in the banknote, can seat sixty to sixty-five thousand people. The back of the note depicts the headquarters of the United Arab Emirates Central Bank in Abu Dhabi.

              This note remains an odd note in the issues of the United Arab Emirates for a number of reasons, not the least because it is difficult to allocate this note to any particular series of notes. Issued some seven years after the second emission of notes and four years prior to the third, it has features that are common to both issues and it also has some unique features—but in total it is a note that belongs to no particular series.

• Some of the features that identify it with the notes of the second series are:
  • The signatures are the same as those used on the notes of the second series
  • Two panels for latent images are used in the bottom left and right, as for the notes of second series
  • The fluorescent feature of the note’s denomination is printed in the same style as the notes of the second series
• A similar range of features found on the 200-dirham note can be observed on the notes of the third series. These features are:
  • A windowed security thread without micro-printed text
  • The disc holding the State Emblem in the middle of the note is silver
  • The script used for the text
  • The perfect registration device of a cartouche holding the date in Arabic on the front and the date in western numerals on the back
  • A line of micro-printed text appears on the back of the note (although this feature was also used on the 500-dirham note of the second issue)
  • The use of a vertical, red serial number that fluoresces

              The 200-dirham note also has some unique features: the State Emblem printed in fluorescent ink and the serial numbers. The fluorescent feature of the State Emblem over the watermark, which can only be seen under ultra-violet light, is different to that which appeared on the notes of the second and third series. On this note the State Emblem is much heavier and several areas of the image are solid, whereas for the notes of the previous and subsequent series the image is simply an outline.

              However, it is the serial numbers on this note that make it unique, as the mix of serial number fonts and formats can only be found on this note. The font and format of the Arabic serial number is not unusual; although the vertical format with the Arabic letter was introduced with this note, the same format continued to be used in the higher denomination notes of the next series. It is the serial number written in western characters that is unique. Firstly, this serial number’s font was used only for this issue and, secondly, the format of the serial number was used only for this note. Using the examples of ٩٧٦١٠٣ا٢ and 2A976103, the Arabic and western serial numbers complement each other in the following manner: ٢ = 2, ا = A and ٩٧٦١٠٣ = 976103. This is the only serial number in all issues of the United Arab Emirates where a Latin character is used with western numbers. (Interestingly, the letter ‘alif’ was originally used on the 1000-dirham note, but with that denomination being discontinued, it was chosen for use as the Arabic identifying letter for the 200-dirham note.)

              Obviously not belonging to either the second or third series, due to the transitional style of the note, the 200-dirham note is best regarded as a discrete issue, particularly as this denomination has never been re-issued.

The Third Issue

In 1993 the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates issued their second series of banknotes—the third series of notes issued in the United Arab Emirates. The denominations of this emission were the same as the Central Bank’s first issue—5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 dirhams—with no update being made to the 200-dirham note. The notes appear very similar to their counterparts in the previous issue, using the same colours and illustrations, but there are many innovations and some changes in the new series. Some of the changes are:

• Large portions of the notes have been redrawn
• The text on the front of the notes is written in a different script
• The disc holding the state emblem in the middle of the note is now silver
• The 50-, 100- and 500-dirham notes have windowed security threads, while the 5- and 10-dirham notes have threads micro-printed with ‘U.A.E.’
• A perfect registration device exists, where a small cartouche on the front of the note, which contains the Hejira year in Arabic numerals, corresponds with a similar cartouche on the back, which contains the year of grace in western numerals

• The fluorescent feature of each note’s denomination is now a block of ink with the numerals created by the absence of ink (as opposed to the previous devices which had solid numerals for the denomination)

• All denominations have the micro-printed text ‘United Arab Emirates Central Bank’ on the back of the notes (below the large text of the same words)

              One of the features to remain constant in the third series is the watermark, which continues to be the head of a sparrow-hawk. While Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum continues to sign the notes in his role as Minister of Finance, the new signature of the Chairman of the Board of Directors belongs to Muhammad Eid al Muraikhi.

              The format of the serial numbers in the third issue is different to the previous issue. The serial number on the lower right is now in western characters, in much the same style as the serial number on the 200-dirham note—except that the numerals are printed in a font especially designed to be read by a sorting machine and the format of the characters is modified. The serial number on the upper left continues to be in Arabic characters, although the characters are now printed in red ink and for the 50-, 100- and 500-dirhams the serial number is printed vertically. The two serial numbers match each other in the following way, using ٠٦٤٧٦٣ث١ and 014064763 (from a 50-dirham note) as examples of complementary serial numbers.

• the first two digits of the serial number in western numerals match the number before the solidus in the Arabic serial number, i.e. ١ = 01
• the third digit of the western-style serial number indicates the letter of the Arabic alphabet, i.e. ث = 4 (‘thaa’ is the fourth letter of the Arabic alphabet)
• the last six digits match the Arabic numerals, i.e. ٠٦٤٧٦٣ = 064763

(This format differs to that of the 200-dirham note in that only numerals are used in the serial number written in western numerals, while a Latin character (A) was used on the 200-dirham note.)

              Each denomination in this series has an Arabic letter and a western numeral assigned as an identifier to their relevant prefix, with the order of the letters once again being strict alphabetical order. The Arabic letters and the western numeral assigned to each denomination are:

A replacement 5-dirham note has been recorded with the prefixes ‘رح/١’ and ‘996’. It is believed that all replacement notes will have this format; i.e. for the serial number using Arabic characters the letter ‘ر’ will be inserted before the letter indicating the denomination and for the serial number using western numerals, the number ‘99’ is used before the numeral indicating the denomination of the note.

              For the notes issued in the third series there are a number of varieties, with each variety being determined by the date that appears in the perfect registration device. The second variety of the 500-dirham note has the added feature of the silhouette of a tower in silver foil at the bottom left on the front of the notes. The various dates for each variety appear in the following chart:

              There appears to have been no announcement as to the dates that the individual denominations of this series were introduced. This is probably because of the similarity between these notes and the notes of the previous series and because the Central Bank appears to have introduced the new notes as necessary, without fanfare, to replace the notes of the second series as they came to the end of their life.

The Fourth Issue

The fourth series of notes consists of two distinct issues. Firstly, the notes of the third issue were introduced with slight, but distinct, modifications and then two new notes were issued—the 20- and 1000-dirham notes. The modifications to the notes of the third series may not be enough to regard the notes of the fourth series as a completely new emission, but the change is distinct enough for collectors to identify them as a separate series.

              Around 1998, notes similar to those of the third issue began to appear with slight modifications. As with the introduction of the third series, the Central Bank seems to have seen these notes as a continuation of the earlier issues and no announcement was made concerning the dates on which existing denominations began to change. The new notes were very similar to the notes they replaced, but they are without the denomination printed over the area holding the watermark and they carry serial numbers that no longer contain an Arabic letter. Instead of the Arabic letter, the new notes use the Arabic numeral that is equivalent to the numeral that appears in the western-style serial number. Under the new structure for the serial numbers, including the new 20- and 1000-dirham notes, the first two numerals indicate the number of the series, the third numeral indicates the denomination, and the remaining six numerals constitute the serial number. The numerals used for each denomination are:

The 200-dirham note has not adopted the new standard for the serial numbers and this suggests that the life of this note is limited.

              A 20-dirham replacement note has been recorded with the serial number prefix ‘957’. The numeral ‘7’ is used to identify the denomination and ‘95’ indicates it is a replacement note. It is not known what range of numerals may be used to identify replacement notes, as the suspicion is that the range may have commenced with ‘99’ and decremented to ‘95’, but this is speculation.

              As well as changes to the area over the watermark and to the serial numbers, the 500-dirham note underwent an additional dramatic change. To the far right, on the front of these notes, an incised foiled strip was added. The incised patterns iridesce as light plays along the strip. This innovative security feature replaces the foil stamp of a tower that had been included in the second variety of this note issued in the previous series.

              In 1998 the United Arab Emirates Central Bank introduced 20- and 1000-dirham notes. They were released into circulation on 6 December 1998, on the occasion of the Accession Day of President His Highness Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the United Arab Emirates National Day. The 20-dirham note carries a view of the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club building on its front and a dhow on the back. The Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club building is distinct because of the roof, which has the appearance of yacht sails. The use of a private building, that has no particular heritage, on a banknote is rather unusual, but the precedent was set with the depiction of the Dubai World Trade Centre on the 100-dirham note of the Central Bank’s first series. The dhow on the back of the 20-dirham note is of local construction and is a type called a ‘Sama’a’. The 20-dirham note is generally not a popular denomination in the United Arab Emirates and it is anticipated that it may not, in future, be released as often as most other denominations.

              The 1000-dirham note depicts two views of Abu Dhabi. On the front of the note is a tower from the Old Fort in Abu Dhabi, sometimes known as the ‘White Fort’ or ‘al Husn Palace’. The fort is built around a freshwater well and the current buildings were erected in the late nineteenth century by Shaikh Zayid the Great, although an earlier fort had been built around the well. Recently restored, the fort is now used by the Cultural Foundation as a documents centre. The panorama on the back of the note is of Abu Dhabi’s skyline, as seen from the Arabian Gulf. The view is of the ‘Corniche’, which is that area of Abu Dhabi that abuts the Gulf. A strip of parkland separates the road from the sea and the buildings on the land-side of the Corniche commence the very modern commercial district of the city.

              Both the 20- and 1000-dirham notes carry a windowed security thread, but while the thread on the 20-dirham note appears to weave in and out of the paper on the front of the note, the 1000-dirham note has the thread showing on the back of the note. Both threads carry micro-printed text that repeats ‘UAE’ and the denomination of the note (in Latin text); with the text designed to be read alternately from the front and the back of the note.

              While the security features on the 20-dirham note are similar to the other notes in this series, the 1000-dirham note has a number of innovative security features. The most noticeable feature is the strip of incised foil down the right hand side on the front of the notes, which is of the same manufacture as the strip that appears on the 500-dirham note. The number ١٠٠٠ appears in golden, reflective ink at the bottom left of the note and again just above this stamp as a type of watermark. On the back of the note there is a strip of gold stamps that repeat the number ١٠٠٠ and the falcon, which is the national symbol of the United Arab Emirates.

              The notes of this issue continue the practice of placing the dates on the front(Hejiera) and back (year of grace) of the note in cartouches that form a perfect registration device. The various dates (years of grace) for each variety appear in the following chart:

It can be reasonably assumed that the various denominations were released into circulation during the year that is printed on the notes. However, the 20-dirham note carries the date ‘1997’ and was released in December 1998, showing that this assumption is not entirely dependable.

              The 100-dirham note is unusual in this series in that it has two varieties. The second variety, dated 2003, includes a silver stamp placed just above the illustration of al-Fahidi Fort. The circular stamp holds an image of a tower from the fort, which is encircled by a ring that holds repetitions of the denomination in Arabic numerals.

              The fourth series continues to be issued as this study concludes. Undoubtedly changes will continue to be made in this series and, ultimately, a new series will be introduced over time. But for now, this is the story of paper money issued in the United Arab Emirates since independence.

This article was completed in February 2004
© Peter Symes

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