1000 Dirhams

The UAE Currency Board's 1973 series was the first autonomous currency issue of the newly federated state, which had only formed in December 1971. Thomas De La Rue handled the complete series from its London facility, a common arrangement for Gulf states establishing central monetary infrastructure in this period. The 1000 Dirham denomination was the highest in that inaugural set — a significant face value that kept most examples out of everyday commerce and, consequently, in better condition than the lower denominations.

The Currency Board itself was a transitional institution, later absorbed into the Central Bank of the UAE when it was established in 1980. Notes from this 1973 issue were progressively withdrawn after that point.