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1 Riyal - Husayn 1 Rupee 1840
| Issuer | Kingdom of Hejaz (Saudi Arabia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1840 (1916) |
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| Currency | Riyal (1916-1925) |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Queen Victoria facing left, with divided legend around the periphery. A rectangular Arabic countermark reading 'الحجاز' (Al-Hejaz) is applied over the queen's portrait, serving as the Hejazi authentication stamp. The effigy is rendered in the classic early Victorian style as used on East India Company coinage. The legend 'VICTORIA QUEEN' appears in Latin script divided across the upper and lower fields flanking the bust. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | EAST INDIA COMPANY ONE RUPEE 1840 |
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| Additional information |
Husayn ibn Ali, Sharif of Mecca, launched his Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule in June 1916 and almost immediately needed a coinage to assert administrative legitimacy over the Hejaz. Rather than strike entirely new dies, his mint restruck on existing Indian Rupee flans — the 1840 Victoria rupee being the most commonly encountered host coin — giving this issue its peculiar dual identity. The underlying rupee type was chosen largely on availability; British India had flooded the Red Sea trade routes with silver for decades.
The overstrike is rarely complete, and traces of the Victorian host are almost always visible on weakly struck examples.