Obverse. Photo © Heritage Auctions
  • 1/2 Qirsh 1928, KM# 8, Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud)
  • 1/2 Qirsh 1928, KM# 8, Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud)
Description

Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (1875–1953), known in the West as Ibn Saud, was the founder and first king of Saudi Arabia, the "third Saudi state", reigning from 23 September 1932 to his death. He had ruled parts of the kingdom as early as 1902, having previously been the emir, sultan, and king of Nejd and the king of Hejaz.

He reconquered his family's ancestral home city of Riyadh in 1902, starting three decades of conquests that made him the ruler of nearly all of central and north Arabia. He consolidated his control over the Nejd in 1922, then conquered the Hejaz in 1925. He extended his dominions into what later became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. As King, he presided over the discovery of petroleum in Saudi Arabia in 1938 and the beginning of large-scale oil production after World War II. He fathered many children, including 45 sons, and all of the subsequent kings of Saudi Arabia.

Obverse

Depicts the legend above "King of Hejaz, Nejd and dependencies" and below "Abdulaziz Al Saud".

ملك الحجاز ونجد و ملحقاتها
عبد الغزيز ال سعود

Reverse

Legend "Half Qirsh" above numeral value, date (AH) below.

نصف قرش
١/٢
١٣٤٦

Edge

1/2 Qirsh

Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
KM# 8 Schön# 6.1
Characteristics
Material Cupronickel
Weight 5 g
Diameter 23 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal

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