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1/2 Dinar 1968, Kuwait

in Krause book Number: 7
Years of issue: 20.04.1971
Edition:
Signatures: Governor of the Bank: Hamza Abbas, Finance Minister: Abdul Rahman al-Atiquel
Serie: 1968 Issue
Specimen of: 1968
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 130 x 70
Printer: Bradbury, Wilkinson & Company Limited, New Malden

* All pictures marked magnify are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.

** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.

1/2 Dinar 1968

Description

Watermark:

watermark

Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah.

Avers:

1/2 Dinar 1968

صباح السالم الصباح‎

Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah (12 April 1913 – 31 December 1977) (Arabic: صباح السالم الصباح‎) was the Emir of Kuwait from 1965 to 1977, and youngest son of Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah succeeded his half-brother Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah upon his death on 24 November 1965. He suspended parliament in late August 1976 for 4 years, claiming it was acting against the nation. He died from cancer on 31 December 1977.

Prior to his ascension, he served as the president of the Police Directorate from 1953 to 1959, President of the public health department from 1959 to 1961, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1962 to 1963, and Prime Minister of Kuwait from 1963 to 1965. He was appointed as Crown Prince on 29 October 1962.

Revers:

1/2 Dinar 1968

Shuwaikh school Shuwaikh school

On the banknote is Shuwaikh school (English school), main facade. On the left is a monument located near the school building - a globe on an axis, in the form of an arrow. Near this monument, earlier, on Fridays, students gathered for a picnic. They but it down and it was a shame for allot of people who studied there in the old times.

The English School was founded in 1953, by a group of volunteer parents in expatriate housing in North Kuwait in response to a need for schooling for their families. A Management Team of five parents was formed and it was agreed that the School would be non-profit making.

The fees charged were 150 rupees ( the rupee being the currency in Kuwait at that time) which helped to cover the running costs and expenditure on resources. It was known as the Shuwaikh School and it expanded from 9 pupils in the first year, situated in the lounge of Block 4, Shuwaikh Bachelors Camp, to about 45 pupils in three classes in 1954.

The first headmistress was one of the parents, Mrs Eric Jones. Initially, the School provided for children from 4 to 8 years, using the P.N.E.U. (Parents National Education Union) system.

In 1955, the first Sports Day was held and this became an annual event. Later, in 1959, the Annual Sports Day prizes were presented by the wife of the British Political Agent, Mr John Richmond. In 1957, the site of the Shuwaikh Bachelor Camp was officially given over to the school in three complete classroom blocks. It was later, in 1965, when Mrs Inez Murray was headmistress of the Shuwaikh School, that Ms Joyce Carter joined the School as the only qualified teacher among the staff who were mainly parents. In 1971, the School felt the need to expand to take children of 10 years due to the decline in the trend of sending children home to boarding school in the UK. In its early days, the School ethos was very much that of a family school, with parents running all aspects of school life. Both mothers and fathers helped to organise Sports Days and Christmas parties and to build, maintain and repair as required. This tradition was firmly established in 1973 with the official inauguration of the Parents Association in the form of a Book Evening, an event that helped to provide the initial Library stock and which was continued on a regular basis as the Library expanded. The Parents Association continues today, as it was then, as an invaluable and supportive element of the School.

Since the founding of Shuwaikh School, the first foreign school in Kuwait, coincided with the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the names of Royal residences, Buckingham, Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor were chosen for the newly-formed School Houses.

Shuwaikh school

The School was renamed The English School, Kuwait, in 1970, at the request of the newly formed Private Schools sector of the Ministry of Education, and it in turn made way for the Civil Service Commission and moved into purpose built premises in Al-Surra in March 1973, with the agreement of the School owner, Mr Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar. The Headmistress then was Mrs Deidre Bird and the first day at the new School premises was marked by a visit from Mrs Margaret Thatcher who was then Secretary of State for Education in the UK. The British Ambassador, Sir John Wilton, together with his wife, accompanied Mrs Thatcher on her tour of inspection. Mrs Bird was Headmistress at the English School until 1985.

The school was closed from 1990-91 due to the Iraqi invasion and then following the Liberation, a group of interested parents, volunteered to try to get the school re-started so that children of those families who had returned soon afterwards could go to school. These dedicated parents were the nucleus of the first post-war Management Team. The School was re-opened with just under 30 pupils in 1991, with the help of Mrs Val Kirk as Acting Head and three teachers, including Ms Joyce Carter, who had just rejoined the School. In 1992, as pupil numbers increased, Mr Brian Errington joined the school from the UK as Headmaster and remained with the School when it moved to its present site in Salmiya in 1996. Mr Al-Bahar officially opened the School at Salmiya in the presence of the British Ambassador, Sir Graham Boyce in May 1996. In 1997, the School expanded to Year 7 for the first time and in 1998, to Year 8. Once again the School temporarily closed from 24th February until 25th April 2003 during Coalition Operations in Iraq. An Emergency School was operated briefly, during this time, for 100 or so children who were in Kuwait. In May 2003 the School opened its first Pre- Kindergarten class and then had a roll of about 400 children.

The year 2003 marked the 50th anniversary for The English School, Kuwait and we are proud that a fitting tribute was paid in recognition of Mr Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar our owner who received the OBE, in October, from HE the British Ambassador, Mr Christopher Wilton, CMG. The School was very proud also to receive a Royal visit from HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York in December.

Shuwaikh school

The years 2004-2015 have seen significant growth and development. The school roll is now 600+ boys and girls from age 2½ – 13+. Several major capital projects have been completed in the last few years including a new Library, new Art and Design/Technology centre, new Swimming Pool, new ICT facilities including the introduction of Interactive Whiteboards and Performing Arts Centre. Most recently the school has added a music technology suite and has completely refurbished the gymnasium. The school is a modern, well equipped campus providing the best of British Prep School education to its pupil. As of September 2016, all students in grades 3-8 have their own school iPad. (www.tes.edu.kw)

Comments:

Following the rapid development of Kuwait’s economy it was deemed necessary by the Government of Kuwait to introduce a central bank to supervise the economy and its development. The Central Bank of Kuwait was created under Law No. 32 of 1968 and commenced operations on 1 April 1969, taking over the responsibilities of the Kuwait Currency Board. The notes of the Currency Board continued to circulate for some time, but ultimately a new series of banknotes was released under the authority of the Central Bank. The ¼-, ½- and 10-dinar notes were issued on 17 November 1970, while the 1- and 5-dinar notes were released on 20 April 1971.

The design on the front of each note in the new series is similar to the note it replaced, but the portrait of the new Amir, Sheik Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah who became head of state in 1965, replaces the portrait of his brother and dominates the note to the right. The text on the front of the notes has changed to reflect the new issuing authority and the law under which authority the notes are issued. The notes are now signed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Minister of Finance, with the signatories being Hamza Abbas and Abdul Rahman al-Atiquei. The signatures that appeared on all notes, when they were first issued, were printed in black ink. However, on the ¼- and ½-dinar notes the signatures later became part of the intaglio plate printing. Consequently, there are two varieties of notes for both denominations. The ¼-dinar has black or brown signatures and the ½-dinar has black or purple signatures.

The back of each note is also of a similar design to the notes they replaced, but whereas the first issue had monochrome illustrations, enhanced colour designs have been added to the back of each note in this series. For three of the five notes in this issue the same illustration is used on the back of the notes as for the first issue. However, the cement factory on the back of the 1-dinar note has made way for the illustration of an oil refinery, and the street-level view of limited income houses on the earlier 5-dinar note has made way for an aerial view of a housing estate of limited income houses. The use of the oil refinery in place of the cement products factory on the 1-dinar note shows a measure of development in Kuwait’s economy between the two issues. The 10-dinar note also has a subtle example of progress between the two issues. On the back of the 10-dinar note of the first issue the boum (dhow) has an old Kuwaiti flag flying astern of the vessel. On the new note the modern flag of Kuwait takes its place. The old flag had a scarlet field with a white stripe along the hoist. The word ‘Kuwait’ was written in Arabic in the centre of the flag and the words ‘There is no god but Allah’ was written in white adjacent to the white stripe along the hoist. The new flag was introduced by Amiri Decree No.26 1961 and announced in the Government Gazette of 10 September 1961. It is a horizontal tricolour of green, white and red, with a black trapezoid at the hoist.

A portrait of Sheik Sabah is used as the watermark to the left of the notes, with the watermark being a mirror image of the portrait that appears on the front of the note. The security thread continues to be a ‘Morse code’ thread, spelling "Kuwait". The serial numbers for the notes of the second issue have a prefix of the letter ‘ب’ (baa) over a number, followed by a six digit number. The second issue was withdrawn from 1 February, 1982, and ceased to be a legal tender on 31 May, 1982. (www.pjsymes.com.au)