Sudan: uniface trials of 1956

[<k>]

London Coins auction.

Reverse uniface trials, undated, unlisted by Krause.

[Figleaf]

The currency of Sudan is the Sudanese pound (SDG), which is divided in 100 piastres. A similar system was used in Egypt, where the piastre was further divided in 10 millièmes. At the current rate of EUR 0.11454 for SDG, if Sudan would have used millièmes, 10 millièmes would have been EUR 0.00011 (0.011 eurocent) and 1 millième would have been EUR 0.00001 (0.001 eurocent.)

Peter

[Henk]

The fantasies (or specimens of a proposed coinage) are undated. They could date from 1956, the year Sudan became independent. At that date Egypt also still had millieme coins and indeed a 1 millieme coins was also part of the coinage issued by Sudan. In 1956 the value of the Sudanese pound would be about equal to an Egyptian or English Pound. A millieme at 1/1000 of a Pound is about equal in value to a Farthing (1/960 of a Pound). Minting of farthings in the UK ceased in 1956 and farthings were demonetised at the end of 1960.

[Figleaf]

On my first trip to Egypt, in 1978, the Egyptian pound was 12 guilders, more expensive than GBP at that time. Coins of 5 and 10 mills circulated. However, the pieces shown above are much more recent. They surfaced only in the last 5 years or so.

Peter

[<k>]

Here is an illustration of another one of the 1956 pieces.  It is taken from Dr Schön's World Coin Catalogue of 2018.

I asked our forum member Dr Gerhard Schön about these pieces.

He replied:

In 1956, the Kremnica Mint (of Czechoslovakia) made some patterns of this kind for Sudan.

The many uniface items on the market now are most likely restrikes done in the 1990s at the earliest.

[Figleaf]

For the record, the German text below the picture mentions:

1 millieme cotton (see first picture above)
10 milliemes elephant and circle of animals (see second picture above)
200 milliemes woman between palm trees (see picture directly above)

Peter