Khaberni - The Saudi National Museum in Riyadh reveals a unique kind of exhibition titled "Coined Narratives: Saudi Arabia's Legacy in Currency," which for the first time displays a number of rare Islamic coins that recount tales from the beginnings of Islamic history, continuing until next December.
The exhibition provides a comprehensive cultural experience highlighting the evolution of money in the Islamic world from the Umayyad era to the establishment of the Saudi state, through a rare collection of coins that are among the most important private collections in the world, especially those minted in the holy cities: Mecca and Medina.
Alan Baron, the curator of the exhibition and one of the world's prominent historical coin collectors told "CNN," "These coins show how Muslims introduced money to the Islamic world, and how the Umayyad Arabs expressed their identity by transforming Christian coins into Islamic ones bearing the testimony."
Coined Narratives Exhibition in Saudi Arabia
One of the highlights of the exhibit is the Umayyad dinar, which is the first pure gold Islamic dinar bearing Quranic verses without human images, marking a historic step towards the economic and intellectual independence of Islam.
The museum also displays a gold trial version of the first Saudi pound equivalent to the sterling pound, presented to King Abdulaziz Al Saud in Paris along with his personal notes on the design, and this piece remains preserved within a private collection.
Coined Narratives Exhibition in Saudi Arabia
Baron concluded his speech by saying, "Coins are not just engraved metals, but messages from history, and often the only remaining evidence of past ages. I hope that visitors will leave understanding how money was born in the Islamic world and how it reflected the features of life in those eras."
