World coins chat: Sudan

7 posts
Sudan is a country in north eastern Africa south of Egypt around the Nile. For centuries it has been on the frontier of the Arab world and sub-Saharan Africa, which played a large role in the many ethnic conflicts the country endured in its recent history. The name Sudan comes from the Arab name for sub-Saharan Africa 'bilād as-sūdān' meaning 'land of the blacks'.

During the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs, the area now known as Sudan was known as Nubia, which had a similar but distinct culture compared to the Egyptians. Around 1700 BC, the Kingdom of Kush was established in Nubia and would survive for around 2000 years. The pyramids of Meroe are a famous UNESCO site probably visited by only few as Sudan is not a very comfortable tourist destination.

In the centuries after, the area was chritianised under Byzantine influence until Arab influence started to spread from Egypt. In the 16th century the Funj Empire ruled Sudan until in 1821 Egyptian leader Muhammad Ali Pasha invaded and conquered Sudan. The Sudanese revolted in 1882 and the Egyptians asked the British for help and they took control of what would later become the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

Sudan was now ruled by Egyptians but in effect a British colony. After Nasr took power in Egypt, he let go of the Egyptian claim to annex Sudan and Britain granted its independence in 1956. Years before it was already decided to keep the southern Equatorian province with Sudan, despite it culturally being much closer to Uganda. South Sudan fought two very long civil wars but emerged as an independent nation in 2011.

Sudan itself is ruled by Omar Al-Bashir who took power in a bloodless coup in 1989. He is accused of fostering an apartheid style regime favouring the Sudanese Arabs over all minorities. The atrocities committed during the Darfur War on Sudan's Chadian border is seen as a genocide and Al-Bashir is sought after by the International Peace Tribunal.

All in all Sudan's history is very troubled and the Darfur War continues to claim casualties and the border disputes with South Sudan are far from solved.

Sudan used Egyptian currency in the 19th century but during the Mahdist revolt in the 19th century (during which the British slaughtered a 50,000 strong enemy with artillery and machine guns in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898) some Sudanese coins were issued. These are extremely rare.

In 1956 the Sudanese Pound replaced the Egyptian Pound at par and pegged to the US Dollar at $2.87 per Pound. From 1978, the currency underwent successive devaluations until in 1992 the Dinar replaced the Pound at a 10 to 1 rate. In 1995 the Dinar was worth around 500/$ dropping to 2000/$ in 2001, when the second Pound was introduced worth 1000 Dinars. This second Pound stayed relatively stable and trades around 6 to the USD in 2015.

Sudanese coins come in many variants, some of which were extensively discussed in the forum. The first series depicted a camel (with variant background mountains for the ones that love to collect almost similar looking coins with different KM#) and the second the Sudanese eagle. In 1987 and 1989 further distinctive series were minted. The Dinar is known to me as the coins with really low quality strikes, comparable to the appalling coin striking abilities of the Indian mint. There is only one modern Pound series with a bimetallic 50 Piastres and commemorative 1 Pound.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/soudan-1.html
Only one from the camel series:

and a couple from the eagle series:

plus, a proof commemorative - unfortunately, it came without a capsule, but is still in decent shape
HoH
I've just received a few FAO coins from 1976 (from 5 mallimat to 10 qirsh) and a 50 qirsh Revolution coin from 1977... My 5 mallimat is in poor quality too, between die cracks in both sides and an ugly reverse with the listel partly erased (probably a filled die)
Administrateur du catalogue, référent de nombreuses nations antiques et de la Lorraine.
Catalogue administrator, numerous Antique nations and Lorraine referee.
I've really been neglecting these threads lately now that university is on... my apologies to my loyal fanbase.

The "camel postman" you see on earlier Sudanese coins has an interesting history. In 1897, an artistically talented British captain was told to come up with a design for Sudan's first stamps... in just five days. Working fast, he convinced a local chieftain to fill some bags with straw, write "TO KHARTOUM" (and similar) on them, and strap them to his camel so that they would look like mailbags. The resulting stamp engraving became so popular that it entered continuous use up until the 1950s. If you ever visit Khartoum (for some reason), be sure to find the museum where the original sketch is displayed.

When Sudan achieved independence, the familiar "camel postman" seemed like a good symbol to put on the new nation's coins - and that's how one staged photograph became a symbol of a government's authority for most of a century.



The only other Sudanese coins I own are the recent issues, found in a local junk bin. Presumably, they were carried here by immigrants/migrants/refugees (circle whichever word makes you feel least guilty).



Two more fun facts: Sudan actually contains more pyramids than Egypt does, and Omar al-Bashir only narrowly evaded being apprehended and sent to the Hague when he set foot outside his godforsaken country to attend a recent African leaders' convention in South Africa (for, of course, he is an internationally wanted man). If Omar tries anything else funny in the near future, we may soon be discovering the exact limits of "diplomatic immunity".

Good to have you back Nalaberong. Nice to read about the camel postman, never heard of the story before.
thank you Nalabrong. Great story! I hadn't heard it either. Now I want to go to the Museum in Khartoum...
Trade only within the US.
I miss two coins..

5 Girsh 1983, - equal sections and thin denomination.
10 Girsh 1983 - equal sections.

I will give anything YOu like in exchange for these two coins

Ready for Your offers ! - You can choose anything from my swaplist, or ask for Georgian coins of medieval period, which are quite expensive.

yours
David

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