Jordan's coin series of 1992 onward

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Jordan, 2½ piastres, 1992.

In 1992 Jordan began issuing a new design series.

The coins were designed and minted by the Royal Canadian Mint.

The coins issued in 1992 were the 2½, 5 and 10 piastres.

The other coins in the set did not appear until later.


Previously when King Hussein appeared in profile on any coin, he had faced right.

Now, for the first time, he faced left.

Above you see his portrait on the obverse of the 2½ piastres coin.

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Reverse of the 2½ piastres coin.

All the lower denominations were given this grid or lattice design.

The coin was 22 mm in diameter and made of stainless steel.

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Reverse of the 5 piastres coin.

The 5 piastres coin was made of nickel-plated steel and had a diameter of 26 mm.

It was also first issued in 1992, but here you see the reverse of an issue dated 2006.

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Reverse of the 10 piastres coin.

The 10 piastres coin was made of nickel-plated steel and had a diameter of 28 mm.

It was also first issued in 1992, but here you see the reverse of an issue dated 2004.


I like the way in which the word "T E N" has been spaced out.

This lets it match the length of the word "PIASTRES" below it.

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Jordan, 1 qirsh, 1994.

No new denominations were issued in 1993.

In 1994 the 1 qirsh coin was issued. The word qirsh means the same as a piastre.

The 1 qirsh coin was made of bronze-plated steel and had a diameter of 25 mm.

Above you see the portrait of King Hussein as it appeared on the obverse.


I do wonder why either qirsh or piastre(s) was not used on all the coins consistently.

Perhaps the authorities were unsure of the anglicised plural of qirsh: should it be "qirsh" or "qirshes"?

But then they should maybe have stuck to "piastre" and "piastres", surely?

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The reverse of the 1 qirsh coin.

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Jordan, ½ qirsh, 1996.

Curiously, the ½ qirsh coin was not issued until 1996.

It was made of copper-plated steel and had a diameter of 21 mm.

Above you see the reverse of the coin.

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Jordan: ½, 1, 2½ and 5 piastres.

Here we see the lower denominations together, apart from the 10 piastres.

They form a stylish set. I particularly like the way in which the text is carefully and neatly placed.

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NEW DESIGNS FOR NEW DENOMINATIONS

In 1994 Jordan asked the Royal Mint (UK) to find a new common design for the higher denominations that Jordan wished to issue.

Jordan cited the arabesque on the reverse of the Syrian 1 lira coin of AH 1414 / CE 1994 as a good example to start from.

Under Jordan's direction, the Royal Mint experimented with various designs, which you can see here:

Jordan: 1994 sketches of unissued coin designs

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Jordan, 1 dinar, 1995.

In 1995 Jordan issued a circulating 1 dinar coin.

It commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

The coin carried the FAO logo on the reverse.


This one-year issue proved to be the format for the coming new 1 dinar coin of the new design series.

The heptagonal coin and the arabesque design had been developed by the Royal Mint (UK).


The arabesque design would later be used for all the higher denomination coins of the new design series.

The coin was made of nickel-brass and had a diameter of 32 mm.

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Jordan, ¼ dinar, 1996.

In 1996 Jordan issued a quarter dinar coin, with the familiar arabesque design on the reverse.

The coin was made of nickel-brass and had a diameter of 26.5 mm.


Interestingly, the coin was called a quarter dinar rather than 25 piastres.

This split the coinage into two halves.


There were the coins with "qirsh" or "piastre" denomination names.

Then there were those with "dinar" denomination names.


The designs of the two halves were also different.

There was a grid or lattice design for the "qirsh / piastre" coins.

And an arabesque design for the "dinar" coins.

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Jordan, ½ dinar, 1996.

Also in 1996, Jordan issued a half dinar coin. It was also heptagonal.

The portrait of King Hussein appeared on the obverse, as it did on all the coins.

The coin was made of brass and had a diameter of 29mm.

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Jordan, 1 dinar, 1997.

Finally in 1996, Jordan issued a heptagonal 1 dinar coin.

The coin was made of nickel-brass and had a diameter of 32 mm.

Here you see the 1997 issue.

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Jordan, ½ dinar, 1997.

In 1997 Jordan issued a new half dinar coin.

Again, it was heptagonal, with the same diameter as before: 29 mm.


This time, however, the coin was bimetallic.

It had a copper-nickel centre within an aluminium-bronze ring.

This was unusual: a bimetallic half dinar coin alongside a monometallic 1 dinar coin.

Usually, bimetallic coins are reserved for the top denomination(s).

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Jordan, 1 dinar, 1998.

The heptagonal 1 dinar coin was issued in 1996 and 1997 only.

In 1998 it was replaced by a smaller coin.

It was round and made of brass, with a diameter of 24 mm.

The reverse had the standard arabesque design of the higher denomination coins.