The ryal ( ar, ريال) was the currency of
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
between 1882 and 1908. It was subdivided into 136 ''
pysa'' and circulated alongside the
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wh ...
and
Maria Theresa thaler
The Maria Theresa thaler (MTT) is a silver bullion coin and a type of Conventionsthaler that has been used in world trade continuously since it was first minted in 1741. It is named after Maria Theresa who ruled Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia fr ...
. The ryal was replaced by the
Zanzibari rupee The rupee ( ar, روپيه) was the currency of Zanzibar from 1908 to December 31, 1935. It was subdivided into 100 ''cents'' (Arabic: سنت).
History
The rupee replaced the Zanzibari ryal at a rate of 2⅛ rupees = 1 ryal and was equivalent to t ...
at 2⅛ rupees = 1 ryal.
Coins
In 1882 (
A.H. 1299), coins were introduced in denominations of 1 pysa, ¼, ½, 1, 2½ and 5 ryals. The pysa was struck in copper, with the ¼, ½ and 1 ryal in silver and the 2½ and 5 ryals struck in gold. Further 1 pysa coins were struck in 1887 (A.H. 1304) but no more silver or gold pieces were ever struck.
The silver and gold ryals all look similar with the exception of the denomination and were struck at the Royal Belgian Mint, Brussels, Belgium. Only the 1 and 5 ryal were put in circulation; for the ¼, ½, and 2½ ryal only patterns were struck. The 1 ryal coin of 38 mm in diameter shows the following text.
Obverse: line 1 and 5: الله حفظه (Allah guards);
line 2 tot 4: سلطان سعيد بن برغش بن سلطان (sultan Sa’id bin Barghash bin Sultan).
Reverse: ١ ريال سكة سعيدية ١٢٩٩عام (ryal 1, coin of Sa’idiat, year 1299).
Zanzibar has been called the Isle of Cloves and the clove sprigs can be seen at different positions on the obverse and reverse.
References
*
* Browder, Tim J., Zanzibar coinage, Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, vol. 27, sept. 1961, pp. 2530-2535.
External links
History of Zanzibar
Currencies of the British Empire
Currencies of Tanzania
Modern obsolete currencies
1882 establishments in Zanzibar
1908 disestablishments
Economy of Zanzibar
History of Zanzibar
Sultanate of Zanzibar
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