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20 Dirhams
| Issuer | Central Bank of Libya |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.51 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts a mounted warrior in traditional Libyan attire, seated on a caparisoned horse facing left and carrying a rifle, rendered in relief against a plain field. The dual date legend appears to the upper left and upper right in Arabic numerals, reading 1399 (AH) and 1979 (AD) respectively. The full Arabic state title of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is inscribed in a curved legend around the lower periphery of the field. The coin is bordered by a raised beaded rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ١٣٩٩ ١٩٧٩ الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الاشتراكية (Translation: 1399 1979 People's Socialist Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) |
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| Additional information |
Libya's 1979 coinage was issued under the Jamahiriya system Gaddafi had formally declared two years earlier — a stateless state, theoretically governed by the masses through People's Committees, which created genuine bureaucratic complications for something as mundane as authorizing a coin series. The Central Bank nominally remained the issuing authority, an awkward arrangement given that centralized institutions were ideologically incompatible with the Jamahiriya model.
The copper-nickel clad steel composition reflects a broader cost-cutting shift seen across North African mints in the late 1970s as silver and solid copper-nickel gave way to cheaper clad alternatives. KM#21 is not scarce in any grade.