1947 One Pound - PCGS MS62

Saudi Arabia, 1947 One Pound -

I’ve never stocked a Saudi Arabian coin before, so my interest was piqued when I was offered this famous Saudi Arabian gold coin. Issued in 1947 by the Philadelphia mint in the United States, it was used by the largest and most valuable company in the world, Saudi Aramco (previously known as the Arabian American Oil Company), to make payments to the Saudi government. They were struck to exactly the same purity and weight as the British sovereign, although it was the American eagle that adorned it rather than St George and the dragon. Many of the coins appear to have been circulated (accounting for the large quantity of circulated examples on the market), but a majority were later melted and converted into bars, according to sovereign dealer Andrew Crellin. The example on offer here is an attractive piece in decent mint state grade, and one of the nicer examples I’ve seen on the market. Popular with collectors and not exactly common, it is an interesting example of token coinage from another time.