20-05-2025
Look: Did you know there was once a Dh1 banknote? Here's what it looked like
The first one-dirham coin began circulating on May 19, 1973. It was issued 534 days after the birth of the UAE, and we're today commemorating its 52nd anniversary release.
Dirham is derived from the Greek word drachma, meaning 'handful'. The term 'dirham' persisted through the Ottoman Empire after centuries of trade and currency usage. Now, the UAE dirham could rival your smartphone as the one thing almost always in your pocket or purse. Whether it's for paying for parking or getting a cup of chai, the Dh1 coin has become part of our daily lives.
But did you know there was once a Dh1 banknote? It was released right after the first Dh1 coin.
The Dh1 banknote featured UAE landmarks and icons, including palm trees, an oil-drilling structure, camels, pearls and a boat sailing in water shaped as the UAE's silhouette.
Today, it's a valuable collector's item, often found in auctions and museums.
Meanwhile, one distinct feature of the Dh1 coin is that it bears the same reverse side since it was first introduced in 1973. The dallah (the traditional Arabic coffee pot used for centuries to brew and serve Arabic coffee gahwa) represents Arabian identity and Gulf hospitality. It is also a constant reminder that all are welcome in the UAE.
The Dh1 coins were first produced at the Royal Mint, UK, and the designs were the work of Geoffrey Colley, an English artist, engraver and sculptor, who designed more than 150 coins for countries like the UAE, Nigeria, Bahrain, Iceland and Iraq.
In 1981, the UAE introduced its first-ever commemorative coin, a 5-dirham piece, to mark the 15th century of the Hijri (Islamic) calendar. The obverse side features a falcon, the UAE's national bird. This coin remains the largest and heaviest ever circulated in the country.
As the UAE dirham completes its 52 years, the currency celebrates its unified form representing the seven emirates. The 1973-born banknotes began their journey in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100, displaying the watermark of an Arabian horse - which was later changed to falcon, the national bird of the UAE.
The earlier denominations were imprinted with landmarks that represented each emirate separately with the name of emirate on the banknote. For example, Dh1 carried the picture of the Clock Tower and Police Fort in Sharjah, while Dh5 note had Fujairah's Old Fort on it. The Dh10 note showed an aerial view of Umm Al Quwain and the Dh50 note displayed the palace of Ruler of Ajman. The Dh100 was imprinted with a picture of Al Rams area in Ras Al Khaimah. Representations from Dubai and Abu Dhabi were introduced with Dh1,000 notes in 1976, which featured Al Jahili Fort of Abu Dhabi and an old fort of Dubai.
Before the dirham, Gulf rupee was used
Another interesting fact that many people might not be aware of today is that long before the UAE dirham even existed, the currency that was used in the UAE was the Gulf rupee.
As reported by Khaleej Times in previous stories, Prior to the introduction of UAE dirham, the region used several currencies including the Indian rupee, the Gulf rupee, the Qatari riyal, Dubai riyal and Bahraini dinar (used in Abu Dhabi) during different phases.
A lot of different currencies were used in the Trucial States before the dirham was born.
In 1957, special notes called the 'external rupees' or 'Gulf rupees' were printed in India for circulation in the Gulf. Other GCC countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar also used them.
The Gulf rupees were in circulation from 1957 to 1966. In 1966, India devalued its currency, and by that time oil had been discovered in the Trucial States. From 1966 to 1973, the currency used in the Trucial States was the Qatar-Dubai riyal.
