LOC11:10
08:10 GMT
KUWAIT, March 28 (KUNA) -- The 50th anniversary of issuance of the Kuwaiti
dinar falls on April 1 -- one of the major manifestations and symbols of the
establishment of modern Kuwait.
The first printing of the dinar dated back to the era of the 11th Ruler of
Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah (1950-1965), exactly on April 1 of
1961. Authorities had put into circulations various banknotes of the national
currency; quarter dinar, half dinar, one dinar, five dinars and 10 dinars,
said the Kuwaiti researcher, Adullah Bukhait Al-Bukhait.
Al-Bukhait, board member of the Kuwaiti Society for Stamp and Coin
Collectors, said the Fifth Ruler, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Sabah Bin Jaber Al-Sabah
(1866-1892), took the initial step, coining the paisa -- a national currency
that depicted the country's sovereignty.
The paisa coin was made, using simple tools like hammers, hence, its shape
was irregular, each different from the other. It was withdrawn after the
circulation of only a few hundred pieces of this currency in the local market.
Several other coins had been put in circulation in old Kuwait, including
the Persian and Turkish coins, before adoption of the Indian rupee -- that
remained in circulation for more than 120 years between 1830 and 1960.
The rupee banknotes were first adopted in 1910. At these times, the
Kuwaitis traded in large-size rupees; categories 1,000, 100, 10, five, two and
one. In 1959, the Indian Government declared the issuance of a special rupee
for circulation in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf.
In his narrative of the history of the national currency, Al-Bukhait said
that it was in 1961, when the Kuwaiti dinar was first put in circulation,
replacing the rupee, following an accord with New Delhi. Kuwaiti banks and the
post department, in a hard process that lasted for two consecutive months,
withdrew the Indian rupee from the domestic markets, putting out KD 25,646.10
(some 342 million rupees), for the rate of the dinar vis a a vis the rupee
stood at 13.33 at the time. Trading in the Indian currency ended on May 17,
1961.
The Kuwaiti dinar was first issued on April 11, 1961, during the era of
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, bearing on one side image of the Amir and
signature of the head of the national monetary board, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad
Al-Sabah. The KD 10 banknote was decorated with a sketch of the Kuwaiti boom,
the wooden dhow -- the vessel used by the ancestors for travel, external trade
and pearl-diving. The quarter category was distinguished with a picture of
al-Shuwaikh harbor, the half dinar, with a photo of Al-Shuwaikh elementary
school, and the dinar with a picture of the cement factory. The five dinar
banknote carried the drawing of low-income houses. The central bank, nine
years later, issued a new series of banknotes.
The dinar with the picture of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem remained in
circulation till 1970, after his demise. On November 17, 1970, the central
bank produced the second issue of the national currency with the same series
but of a smaller size, also bearing the picture of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem,
signatures of the Minister of Finance Abdul Rahman Al-Atigi and the governor
of the Central Bank, Hamza Abbas. These banknotes, replaced, in phases, those
printed in 1961. On November 17, 1970, categories KD 10, the half, the quarter
were produced. The KD five banknote appeared on April 20, 1971.
Describing these series, Al-Bukhait said the drawings remained unchanged,
however, the picture of the cement factory was replaced with one depicting an
oil refinery. The KD five banknote was decorated with an aerial view of a
residential district, replacing the one of the houses.
In late February 1980, more than two years after death of the Amir, Sheikh
Sabah Al-Salem, authorities issued new copies of the national banknotes,
replacing the picture of the Amir with the slogan of the state, as the Amir
Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad desired. The newly-issued banknotes were traded, along
with the old copies, Al-Bukhait said. As to the decorate, one side of the
quarter bore a picture of the gas liquefaction plant, the half dinar,
Al-Shuwaikh port, the dinar, Al-Ahmar Palace in Al-Jahraa, the five dinar,
Al-Seif Palace, and the KD 10, the national "boom."
On February 1, 1982, the Central Bank of Kuwait ordered pullout of the
banknotes bearing pictures of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem and Sabah Al-Salem, in
return for payment of their nominal value, during a grace period expiring on
May 31, 1982. However, carriers of these papers had been allowed to replace
them at the central bank for 10 years, till 1992.
Elaborating, Al-Bukhait said the CBK, on January 27, 1986, printed KD 20
banknotes, effective February 9, 1986, bearing the slogan of the state, and
image of the courts complex, on the other side. It was colored in brown and
bore signature the Minister of Finance Jassem Al-Kharafi and the CBK Governor,
Abdul Wahab Al-Tammar.
The fourth edition of the dinar was on March 24, 1991, nearly two months
after the liberation of the country. The copies were identical to the previous
ones, except for the colors, in addition to the signature of the Finance
Minister Sheikh Ali Al-Khalifa Al-Athbi Al-Sabah. The notes were replaced --
except for those that had been cancelled by the CBK during the occupation.
The fifth edition was put out on April 3, 1994, with major alterations and
inclusion of sketches of the national heritage, and manifestations of modern
buildings in the country. The state slogan was put on the right side of the
paper instead of the left part.
This banknote is distinguished with a thin silver thread that is hardly
visible on the front side of the paper. The five KD, 10 and 20 copies carried
multi-dimensional shapes including head of a falcon surrounding an image
depicting sail ships, along with the signature of the Minister of Finance
Nasser Al-Roudhan and the CBK Governor, Sheikh Salem Al-Abdul Aziz Al-Sabah.
(end)
mf.rf.rk
KUNA 281110 Mar 11NNNN