500 Dirhams 24kt Gold Foil

The UAE issued this 500 Dirham note in 2018 to mark the country's Year of Zayed, the national commemoration of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's centennial birth year. Gold foil substrates have appeared in a handful of commemorative issues globally — most notably from certain Pacific island jurisdictions — but their use by a G20-adjacent central bank with a genuinely circulating currency adds a different weight to the format. This is a souvenir instrument, not a transactional one, though it carries legal tender status.

The gold foil construction makes it acutely susceptible to crease damage that cannot be reversed, and even minor handling leaves permanent surface marks.