Qatar & Dubai banknotes 100 Riyals bank note 1960
Qatar and Dubai Currency Board
Obverse: Vignette of a dhow, oil rig and palm trees enclosed in a circle to the left, while to the right is a circle, of the same size as that surrounding the vignette, which holds a plain area suited for viewing the watermark. The watermark for each denomination is a falcon's head, and a solid security thread runs vertically through the notes at left of centre. The text on the face of the notes is written in Arabic and is split into four areas. In a panel at the top of the notes is the title of the issuing authority: 'The Qatar and Dubai Currency Board'. In the centre of the note is the value of the note in words, under which appears the legal tender clause. Finally, at the lower centre is the signature, which is that of Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani, and his designation, which is 'Chairman of the Currency Board'. (The signature is printed in black, while the designation is part of the plate printing.) The value of each denomination appears in small panels on each corner of the notes.
Reverse: On the reverse of each note the title of the Currency Board is written in English across the top of the note, with the denomination appearing in numerals in the centre and in the top two corners. Each reverse carries an ornamental boss (which is distinct between denominations) and patterned lines.
Qatar and Dubai banknotes
Qatar & Dubai Currency Board ND (1960's) Issue
Qatar & Dubai Currency Board ND (1960's) Issue
The Bank Notes of the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board
Under the Qatar-Dubai Currency Agreement, the new currency to be introduced was to be called the 'Qatar and Dubai Riyal'. It was defined to be equivalent to one and a half shillings sterling, have a parity of 0.186621 grammes of gold, and it was to be divided into one hundred dirhams. Orders for new coins and bank notes were placed with the British Royal Mint and Bradbury Wilkinson and Company Limited immediately after the signing of the Currency Agreement. However the situation in Qatar and Dubai was thrown into turmoil when the Indian Rupee was devalued on 6 June, some months before the new currency could be delivered.
The announcement of the devaluation of the Indian rupee caused a great deal of concern in the Gulf states, as it was not immediately apparent whether the devaluation applied to the 'Gulf rupees' as well as the Indian rupees. Following clarification from the Reserve Bank of India that the devaluation did affect the Gulf rupees, the Gulf states moved quickly to protect themselves from speculators, as the banks within the Gulf states were still exchanging the Gulf rupees for the pre-devaluation rates. Qatar halted all air travel into Qatar for several days, and the banks suspended trading in Indian and Gulf rupees until the ramifications of the devaluation could be fully understood. In order to protect their economies, the governments of Qatar and Dubai promised that, when possible, the Gulf Rupees would be exchanged for the new currency at pre-devaluation rates. However, in order to halt speculation in Gulf Rupees, it was deemed prudent to withdraw them from circulation in the two sheikdoms as soon as possible. To this end an agreement was made with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency to borrow one hundred million Saudi Arabian riyals to provide a circulating currency prior to the arrival of the new Qatar and Dubai riyals.
Consequently the Gulf Rupees were withdrawn from circulation towards the end of June 1966 (ceasing to be legal tender in Qatar and Dubai shortly after), and Saudi riyals entered circulation. The use of Saudi riyals by Qatar and Dubai continued for a number of months, but by mid-September 1966 sufficient notes had been delivered from Bradbury Wilkinson and Company to allow the release of the new currency. So, on 18 September 1966, Qatar and Dubai riyals were made available to the public in exchange for Saudi riyals. The exchange rate for the replacement of Gulf Rupees by Saudi riyals had been 100 Saudi riyals for 106.5 Gulf rupees; and the new currency was now exchanged at the rate of 106.5 Qatar and Dubai riyals for 100 Saudi riyals. The total value of new bank notes placed in circulation during the period of exchange was 73,944,065 Qatar and Dubai riyals.
The notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board consisted of six denominations, these being one, five, ten, twenty-five, fifty and one-hundred riyals. The notes are all similar in design but each denomination increases in size with its value, and each denomination has different colours. The common design for the face of the notes consists of a vignette of a dhow, oil rig and palm trees enclosed in a circle to the left, while to the right is a circle, of the same size as that surrounding the vignette, which holds a plain area suited for viewing the watermark. The watermark for each denomination is a falcon's head, and a solid security thread runs vertically through the notes at left of centre.
The notes issued by the Qatar and Dubai Currency Board continued to circulate in Qatar and Dubai for a number of years. When Qatar became a sovereign state on 2 September 1971 and Dubai achieved independence as a member of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971, the issue and circulation of the notes continued. However, on 9 May 1973, Qatar and Dubai signed an agreement to terminate the Qatar-Dubai Currency Agreement of 1966. Under the new agreement the recently established 'Qatar Monetary Agency' took over the assets and liabilities of the Currency Board with effect from 19 May 1973.