King Hussein of Jordan on coins

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King Hussein was born in 1935. King Faisal II of Iraq was his cousin. King Faisal was assassinated, but King Hussein, nicknamed the PLK (Plucky little King) was certainly a survivor, in a dangerous region that has been plagued by enmities: monarchs and Ba'athist dictators; Arabs and Jews; Sunnis and Shi'ites; Palestinian and Israelis; Arab nationalists, the PLO, and religious fundamentalists; Communist clients and supporters of the West.

He saw several numismatic portraits of himself during his lifetime; these, I think, are all of them.

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The first numismatic portrait of King Hussein, which appeared in 1968, was by British artist and sculptor, Philip Nathan. He is perhaps best known for designing the UK Charles and Diana Royal Wedding crown (25 pence) of 1981. He also designed the reverse of the UK's first Britannia gold bullion coins of the 1980s, the circulating coin series of Barbados (1970s onward), and the reverses of Gibraltar's circulation series of 2004 and 2005.

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Jordan, 1969.

This portrait appeared on a collector set of silver and gold coins, issued by the Italcambio Mint in 1969.

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Jordan, 25 dinars, 1977.  25th anniversary of Hussein's accession to the throne.

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Jordan, ¼ dinar, 1977.  25th anniversary of Hussein's accession to the throne.

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New portrait, 1977.

This portrait, by Geoffrey Colley, first appeared on a set of three collector coins, issued to promote the World Wildlife Fund.

In 1978 the portrait appeared on a new set of circulation coins.

See also: Royal Mint Museum, Jordan.

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A new portrait was used on this 40 dinar gold coin of 1980.

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Jordan, 50 dinars, 1985.  50th birthday of King Hussein. This was a gold coin.

A nickel-bronze 1 dinar coin with the same portrait, by Michael Rizzello was also issued in 1985.





Michael Rizzello also designed the reverse of the coin.

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Jordan, 1 dinar, 1992.  King Hussein.  40th anniversary of his reign.

This portrait was the work of Robert Elderton.

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A new portrait appeared on the circulation coinage from 1992.

The portrait was the work of the Royal Canadian Mint. I do not know who designed it, as the RCM does not usually reveal such information about its coins for overseas countries.

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The portrait on the 5 dinars of 1995 (so far as I know) appears only on that coin. It was produced by the Royal Mint and was a collector coin for the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

Compare this portrait to the portrait in the previous post. They look like the same portrait but with a different coup - they show different amounts of the chest and shoulders. Yet they are from two different mints.

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Jordan, 50 dinars, 1996.  Obverse.





Jordan, 50 dinars, 1996.  Reverse.



The Polish-born sculptor Grazyna Jolanta Lindau, who now lives in Bern, Switzerland, designed both sides of this beautiful Jordanian coin. The coin commemorates Jordan's Golden Jubilee of Independence (1946-1996). The reverse shows King Abdullah I of Jordan reading out the independence declaration.

The designs also appeared on a silver 1 dinar coin.

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Jordan, 5 dinars, 1999.

King Hussein died in 1999. This image shows him with his fourth wife, Elizabeth Najeeb Halaby.

The double portrait was designed by Robert Elderton.

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Let's look at that 1969 precious metal collector set.



½ dinar - Al Harraneh Palace.

¾ dinar - Shrine of the Nativity - Bethlehem.

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1 dinar - Jerusalem.