Comments on "Coinage of Bahrain"

[<k>]

Parent topic:  Coinage of Bahrain.
Please post any comments, questions or corrections in this topic here.

Your comments are welcome.

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ANALYSIS



Bahrain's coinage.

The current design series was first issued in 1992.

It is now over 30 years old.

The different themes do not really gel.

And the palm tree appears twice.


Is it time for a new design series?

What do you think, members?

[<k>]

Bahrain, 500 fils, 2002.

The 500 fils coin was last issued in 2002.

It has not been issued since. Why not?

The Pearl Monument that it features was demolished in 2011.


Why not issue another 500 fils coin with a different design?

Or has the Bahraini dinar appreciated too much since 2002?


The Bahraini dinar is currently worth USD 2.64.

Only the Kuwaiti dinar is worth more.


Should another 500 fils coin be issued?

And if so, what design should it have?

Has any member visited Bahrain?

[Figleaf]

The pearl monument was the centre of protesters during the Arab spring in 2011. There were multiple confrontations between police and protesters, during which several protesters died. The period had a religious aspect as it pitted dominating sunnis against shia's. The pearl monument became a potent symbol of discontent with restrictions on political freedom and religious discrimination.

While the royal house, the epicentre of the protester's ire, tried to calm sentiments, police forces kept up brutality and repression. In the aftermath of the destruction of the monument, the roundabout was renamed Farook junction, after the la'qab of the second rashidun caliph, honoured by sunnis, rejected by shia's. The traffic situation was changed from roundabout to junction. The bloody reaction against a central point of resistance and the monument on it has parallels in Tahrir square in Egypt and in China on Tien An Men square and the statue "Goddess of democracy".

With so much emotion connected to the place and such a large effort to make it disappear from memory, even the denomination of the coin that pictured it will have been affected. A resurrection seems unlikely.

Peter

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With so much emotion connected to the place and such a large effort to make it disappear from memory, even the denomination of the coin that pictured it will have been affected. A resurrection seems unlikely.

Wow. It was that strong. 

[quaziright]

Bahrain has a Shia Majority population but ruled by the Emir/King who is from the Sunni Arab minority. The Shia, although arab speaking, are mainly of Persian descent and as such, there is an ethno-sectarian angle to the long running tensions in Bahrain. The Shia community has largely been relegated to the lowest rung of society as the govt either favours Arab Sunni in the private- public sector or expats. The Bahraini military for instance is largely made up of Pakistani foot soldiers while most companies are headed by Caucasian expats and south Asian middle management. Bahraini Sunnis have largely lived off govt dole, but in the last couple decades have been encouraged to join the corporate world through a mix of official and unspoken quota system