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1 Arabian Pound
| Issuer | Arabian National Bank of Hedjaz |
|---|---|
| Year | 1924 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette presents an aerial view of the Kaaba shrine within the Grand Mosque in Mecca, set within an ornate cartouche against a dense arabesque guilloche underprint covering the entire note. A blank watermark window occupies the left portion of the note, with bilingual inscriptions in English and Arabic arranged above and below the central vignette. Denomination numeral "1" appears at lower left and upper right corners, with the date and place of issue inscribed at lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | THE ARABIAN NATIONAL BANK OF HEDJAZ ONE ARABIAN POUND البنك الاهلي الحجازي العربي |
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| Comments |
The Arabian National Bank of Hedjaz was a short-lived institution, operational only briefly in the early 1920s under the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz before Ibn Saud's conquest swept the region into what would become Saudi Arabia. This note is among the earliest paper currency issues from the Arabian Peninsula — a region where paper money was viewed with deep suspicion and largely rejected in favour of silver Maria Theresa thalers and Ottoman coins already in circulation.
Local printing in Jeddah meant crude production by international standards. The watermark security feature was modest, and uptake was poor enough that the series effectively failed before political circumstances made the question moot. Ibn Saud abolished the bank after capturing Hejaz in 1925.