A PRICELESS ancient coin that is more than 2,500 years old is amongst the treasure trove of attractions at a museum highlighting the history of currencies in Bahrain.
The Currency Museum, located at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) building in Manama’s Diplomatic Area, houses the coin from Lydia (part of modern-day Türkiye), that is believed to have been in circulation in ancient Bahrain in 561BC.
It is just one of the many precious exhibits on display at the museum that members of the public can visit for free.
One of the museum’s guides told the GDN that the facility houses coins that are thousands of years old, dating back to 561BC, that are sure to fascinate numismatists and historians from across the globe.
“Some of these coins, such as the one from Lydia, I believe, are worth millions of dinars today,” he said. “It was the first ever coin that was circulated in ancient Bahrain approximately 2,500 years ago at the time of King Croesus.”
According to a book provided to visitors, the museum’s collection includes the first-ever Islamic gold dinar struck by Umayyed Calipha Abdul Malik bin Marwan in the year 696AD.
It is the rarest piece among all Islamic-era coins and the CBB states in the book that it is ‘incredibly proud of the coin’ that is part of their unique collection.
The museum also showcases landmark papers that are more than a century old, such as the Official Document of Establishment of the Eastern Bank in 1918, in both Arabic and English.
Old pictures of the bank and some of its employees are also on display, such as a couple of photographs showing the staff counting 100fils coins during the Currency Exchange Programme in October 1965.
Bahrain’s currency prior to the Bahraini dinar was the Gulf rupee (also on display at the museum), adopted from 1959 to 1965, and issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
According to information provided in one of the exhibits, as part of its determination to assert its national identity, the country formed the Bahraini Currency Board in 1964 with the power to issue and regulate currency.
Subsequently, in 1965, the Bahraini government started adopting the Bahraini dinar (derives from the Roman word denarius meaning ‘containing ten’) as the official currency, which then went on to be the second highest-valued currency in the world.
The banknotes were initially valued at 10 dinars, five dinars, one dinar, half a dinar, and quarter dinar, and the coins were valued at 100fils, 50fils, 25fils, 10fils, 5fils and 1fils.
The first 20 dinar note was issued in 1978 by the Bahrain Monetary Agency which was established in 1973.
Bahrain’s transition to the modern notes began in 1993, with the issuance of uniform size banknotes and lighter weight coins. The museum states that the vignettes on the currency then started detailing aspects of Bahraini culture and traditions.
It was further modernised in 2001 when on December 16, new BD20 notes that carried the portrait of His Majesty King Hamad was issued to commemorate National Day celebrations.
In September 2006, the Bahrain Monetary Agency was rebranded as the CBB, and in 2008, it introduced its first series of notes, reflecting the country’s heritage as well as its modern development.
In 2016, these notes were upgraded with enhanced state-of-the-art security features including SPARK, motion thread and tactile lines added for the visually impaired.
“The technology used was so good that countries in Europe began using the new Bahraini dinar as an example meant to be emulated,” the guide said.
“It made counterfeiting the notes almost impossible, and some countries would begin replicating the note in an attempt to further enhance their own financial security.”
The museum is open to the public from Sunday to Thursday from 9am to 1pm, and is closed on weekends, public holidays and bank holidays.
Admission is free, but registration needs to be done ahead of time.
Interested visitors can register online at cbb.gov.bh.
Visitors need to provide their full name, CPR, telephone number, email, and select the date and time to visit.
Guide books titled Currency Museum, and Commemorative Medals and Coins are available at the museum for visitors eager to learn the history. They also give more detailed information on the exhibits.
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