1 Rial 2007 (AH1428), Saudi Arabia
| in Krause book | Number: 31 |
| Years of issue: | 2007 |
| Edition: | -- |
| Signatures: | Governor of SAMA: Hamad Saud Al-Sayari, Minister of Finance: Ibrahim ben Abdelasis al-Assaf |
| Serie: | Fifth Series |
| Specimen of: | 2007 (AH1428) |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 133 x 62 |
| Printer: | TDLR (Thomas de la Rue & Company), London |
* All pictures marked 
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.
Description
Watermark:
King Abdullah ibn Abdilazīz.
Denomination in numeral "1". The cornerstones.
Avers:
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود, 1 August 1924 - 23 January 2015) was the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 2005 to 2015. He ascended to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd.
Abdullah, like Fahd, was one of the many sons of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life. In 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office. The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king. He also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when Fahd took the throne in 1982. After King Fahd suffered a serious stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until ascending the throne a decade later.
During his reign he maintained close relations with United States and Britain and bought billions of dollars worth of defense equipment from both states. He also gave women the right to vote for municipal councils and to compete in the Olympics. Furthermore, Abdullah maintained the status quo during the waves of protest in the kingdom during the Arab Spring. In November 2013, a BBC report claimed that Saudi Arabia could obtain nuclear weapons at will from Pakistan due to a longstanding relationship.
The King outlived two of his crown princes. Conservative Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was named heir to the throne on the death of Sultan bin Abdulaziz in October 2011, but Nayef himself died in June 2012. Abdullah then named the 76-year-old defense minister, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as crown prince. According to various reports, Abdullah married about 30 times, and had more than 35 children. The king had a personal fortune estimated at US$18 billion, making him the third wealthiest head of state in the world. He died on 23 January 2015, aged 90, three weeks after being hospitalized for pneumonia, and was succeeded as king by his half-brother Salman of Saudi Arabia.
Centered - The first ever coin to record the famous Islamic phrase "There is no God but Allah".
The historic gold dinar from 690 AD was minted in Damascus by the Umayyad dynasty - the first Arab empire, which stretched from Spain in the west to India in the east at the peak of its power. The coin, which weighs 0.15oz.
Dated 77 in the Islamic calendar, the words written on the coin translate in English to: ‘No God but God, Unique, He has no associate".
"Muhammad is the messenger of God who sent him with guidance and the religion of truth that he might make it supreme over all other religions. God is one, God is eternal. He does not beget nor is he begotten. In the name of God this dinar was struck in the year seven and 70". ("محمد رسول الله أرسله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله").
These coins, and coins like these, would have been used to finance the building of the Umayyad empire. Each year a new coin was made.
Denominations in numerals are in lower left, centered and top right corners.
Revers:
Headquarter building of "Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency" (SAMA) in Riyadh.
And now a little about the history of that building:
Client: Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.
Architect: "Minoru Yamasaki & Associates".
Project Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Project Scope: Structural Engineering and Construction Engineering.
Project Details: One 6‐story rectangular building organized around an enormous air conditioned courtyard measuring 138 ft. x 158 ft. x 100 ft. high. Basement parking, loading, and currency vault areas. 1,000,000 ft2 total of office and work space area.
Challenge: Large column‐free interior courtyard with continuous skylight at perimeter.
Solution: This structure was built with precast concrete columns, load bearing façade walls, beams and slab soffits all tied together with an in situ reinforced concrete topping to integrate all precast elements into a monolithic structure resisting gravity and seismic loads. Vertical reinforcing steel as large as 57 mm. in diameter were joined together with Alfred A. Yee’s patented Splice Sleeve to develop full continuity between precast elements from floor to floor.
And, finally, such nice building with modern interior in Arabian style. (SAMA)
The Saudi Arabian national emblem (شعار السعودية) is lower right.
It was adopted in 1950. According to the Saudi Basic Law, it consists of two crossed swords with a palm tree in the space above and between the blades.
The swords represent the two kingdoms of Nejd and Hijaz, which were united under Ibn Saud in 1926. The palm tree represent the Kingdom's assets which are defined as its people, heritage, history, and resources natural and non-natural. Thus, the palm is shown to be guarded by the two swords, which represent the force to be used in defense of the nation.
Denominations in numerals are in top left corner and centered, in words and in numeral in lower right corner.
Comments:
Security metallic thread with an inscription "SAMA 1".
The riyal has been the currency of Saudi Arabia since the country came into being and was the currency of Hejaz before Saudi Arabia was created. The Hejaz riyal was based on (though not equivalent to) the Ottoman 20 kuruş coin and was consequently divided into 20 Qirsh. However, although the Hejaz riyal was the same weight as the Ottoman 20 kuruş, it was minted in .917 fineness, compared to .830 fineness for the Ottoman coin. Thus, because the first Saudi riyal had the same specifications as the Hejaz riyal and circulated alongside Ottoman coins, it came to be worth 22 Ottoman kuruş and was consequently subdivided into 22 ghirsh when coins denominated in Qirsh were issued from 1925. This remained the system of currency even though the riyal was subsequently debased to a coin equivalent in silver content to the Indian rupee in 1935.
In 1960, the system was changed to 20 Qirsh = 1 riyal and this was followed in 1963 by the introduction of the halala, worth one hundredth of a riyal. Some Saudi coins still bear denominations in Qirsh but this denomination is no longer commonly used.
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