Maldivian 25 laari coin

25 laari
General information
Country	Maldives
Value	0.25 rufiyaa
Years	1960–2008 (AH1379–1433)
Measurements and composition
Mass	4.1 g (1960-1996) 3.75 g (2008)
Diameter	20.19 mm
Thickness	1.75 mm (1960-1979) 1.85 mm (1984-2008)
Composition	nickel-brass (1960-1996) brass-plated steel (2008)
Appearance
Shape	round
Alignment	medallic
Edge	security edge (1960) reeded (1960-2008)
Obverse	Emblem of the Maldives, Gregorian and Islamic dates (1960-1979) Minaret and Malé Friday Mosque, knotted rope, Gregorian and Islamic dates (1984-2008)
Reverse	Value, "mint title" (1960-1979) State title, value (1984-2008)
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The 25 laari coin is a circulation piece that has been issued in various types from 1960 to 2008 by the current Republic of the Maldives and former Sultanate of the Maldives (both are referred to as the "Maldives Islands" in Krause's Standard Catalog of World Coins). In 1960, during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Fareed Didi (1901–1969), the first two 25 laari pieces were produced, differing from each other by their edges. Of these, one was minted again in 1979 before being discontinued. A third type was introduced in 1984 by the Republic of the Maldives, and continued to be intermittently made until 1996; it was replaced by a similar piece that made its debut in 2008. All of the 25 laari coins currently have legal tender face values equivalent to 0.25 rufiyaa on the Maldives. Each of the types was produced at the Royal Mint of the United Kingdom, and all examples coined since 1984 have been distributed by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the Maldivian central bank.

Coins

Coins of the Sultanate and first coin of the Republic (1960–1979)

The rufiyaa was established as the official currency of the Maldives in 1947, during the regnancy of the late Sultan Abdul Majeed Didi (1873–1952). However, initially only banknotes were produced for the new currency; the coins that saw use on the Maldives during the time period were old Maldivian larins and rupees imported from the nearby nation of Ceylon. However, in 1960, approximately thirteen years later, Muhammad Fareed Didi, the eldest son and successor of Abdul Majeed, called upon the Royal Mint in Tower Hill, London, to produce the first series of coins for the rufiyaa, which includes pieces denominated at 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 laari. The 25 laari coin was minted with two edge varieties: one with reeds and a security groove and the other simply bearing reeds. Production of pieces with the security edge ceased in 1960, but those with the normal reeded edge were made for a second time in 1979, nearly eleven years after the abolition of the Maldivian monarchy in 1968. Both types are composed of a nickel-brass alloy, weigh about 4.1 grams, and measure 20.4 millimeters in diameter and 1.75 millimeters in thickness. Each has medallic alignment and is round in shape.

Engraved in the center of the obverse is the emblem of the Maldives – which consists of a coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) and star and crescent between two Maldivian flags on thin poles, and above a scroll bearing the Arabic "الدولة المحلديبية" (Romanized: Ad-Dawlat Al-Mahaldheebiyya; English: "State of the Mahal Dibayat") in naskh style. Angled upward at the top left rim of the piece is the Gregorian date in Western Arabic numerals (i.e. "1960"), accompanied at the top right by the corresponding Islamic year in Eastern Arabic numbers (i.e. "١٣٧٩"; 1379). Inscribed at the bottom center of the reverse is the value "25 ލާރި" (fansavees laari) in Maldivian, with the numeral "25" (fansavees) and the word "ލާރި" (laari) printed on separate lines and the former written significantly larger than the latter. On the coin, the number is shown in a serifed font. Inscribed horizontally in small print above the numeral "25" (fansavees) in the value is the Maldivian text "މާލެ، ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ" (Malé, Dhivehi Raajje). The "ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ" (Dhivehi Raajje), roughly translating to English as "Land of the Dhivehi People", attributes the coin to the Maldives; the "މާލެ" (Malé) refers to the capital city of Malé, but the reason for its inclusion on the piece is uncertain. The Arabic equivalent of the Maldivian – "ماليه محلديب" (Maliyya Mahaldib) – is printed in a counterclockwise direction along the upper periphery of the piece in a larger font. The rims of both the obverse and reverse are raised and decorated with a dentillated border.

The total mintage of the first two 25 laari coins is currently unknown. A recorded 301,270 examples of the security edge piece were produced in 1960, including 300,000 business strikes and 1,270 proofs. An unknown number of reeded-edge business strikes was coined in 1960, but in 1979, a reported 100,000 examples were made, with a handful struck with a proof finish.

Years
Gregorian	Islamic
1960	١٣٧٩ (1379)
1979	١٣٩٩ (1399)

Malé minaret coins (1984–2008)

The popularity of the reestablishment of the Maldives as a republic ultimately resulted in the abolition of the Maldivian Sultanate and the establishment of the current Republic of the Maldives in 1968. Muhammad Fareed Didi was then deposed as leader and Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir (1926–2008) was sworn in as the first President of the Second Maldivian Republic, a position he held until 1978. The first 25 laari coin of the Republic was issued in 1979, under Nasir's successor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (1937–), in the style of the coin of the Sultanate (the first issue of the republic is detailed above). In 1984, however, the newly-established (1981) Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) authorized the introduction of a redesigned series of circulation coins consisting of denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 laari, and 1 rufiyaa. Commissioned to strike the coins was the Royal Mint (moved to Llantrisant, Wales, in 1968), which incorporated designs submitted by Maldivian artists Maizan Hassan Manik and Ahmed Abbas onto the pieces. The 25 laari coin of the series was minted again in 1990 and 1996, and was replaced in 2008 by a coin of the same design and denomination, but of a different composition and mass. Earlier-dated examples are composed of nickel-brass and weigh approximately 4.15 grams, whereas 2008 coins are made of brass-plated steel and have a mass of roughly 3.75 grams. Due to being primarily made of steel, the later piece is magnetic. Coins from all dates measure 20.19 millimeters in diameter and 1.85 millimeters in thickness. They are round in shape and have medallic alignment and a reeded edge.

Instead of the emblem of the Maldives, which appears on all earlier coins of the rufiyaa, the center of the obverse features a scene illustrating the minaret of the Malé Friday Mosque in the foreground, with the mosque and trees in the background. The mosque, erected in 1658 under Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I (1630s–1687), is one of the most well-known structures on the Maldives, and its depiction on the 25 laari coin is reflective of the Maldivian culture and religion. Slanted upward at the upper left rim of the piece is the Gregorian date of minting in Western Arabic numerals, and angled downward at the upper right is the corresponding date in the Islamic Hijri calendar, written in Eastern Arabic numbers. A decorative knotted rope is engraved along the bottom portion of the coin's periphery, the "MMA" initials of the Maldives Monetary Authority inscribed in small print below. Displayed in a large Arial-like font in the center of the reverse is the numeral "25" (fansavees), followed below by the Maldivian "ލާރި" (laari) and then the Western "LAARI". Both of these words are printed on separate lines and are significantly smaller in size than the numeral that precedes them. "MALDIVES" is written clockwise along the top left rim of the piece, while the Maldivian equivalent – "ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ" (Dhivehi Raajje) – is engraved in the opposing direction at the top right periphery. Both of the rims of the piece are raised.

The total mintage of the third and fourth 25 laari coins is currently unknown. An undisclosed number of business strikes and around 2,500 proofs were made in 1984, and only business strikes were coined in 1990, 1996, and 2008.

Years
Gregorian	Islamic
1984	١٤٠٤ (1404)
1990	١٤١١ (1411)
1996	١٤١٦ (1416)
2008	١٤٢٩ (1429)

References

• Numismatic Guaranty Corporation website
• Numista (English) (French)
• Coins of the Maldivian rufiyaa on the English Wikipedia
• Maldives Monetary Authority – Currency in circulation, Coins