3 Baisa - Said

Said bin Taimur's Muscat and Oman operated one of the most deliberately closed economies of the twentieth century. The Sultan actively resisted modernization, banned imports of eyeglasses, books, and radios, and kept the currency system intentionally archaic — the baisa denominations were struck in limited quantities for a population he worked hard to keep isolated from outside commerce. This 1961 issue was produced at the Royal Mint in London, as Oman had no domestic minting capability.