If you want some of the loveliest coins that the Middle East has to offer in your own collection, Bahrain coins are an area you can’t ignore. Although the island state in the Persian Gulf has only issued currency of its own since 1965, Bahrain coins, with their often simple but bold designs and reserved sense of pride and style, are impressive. They look good in a cash register, they look good in the palm of your hand, and they look good in coin holders in your personal album!
Bahrain Coins History
Bahrain used the Gulf rupee from 1959-65 before gaining independence from Britain. When it became autonomous and instituted its own currency system, it adopted the units of dinars and fils. A dinar is divided into 1,000 fils.
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Note: “Fils” is the singular and plural form of the currency. Thus there is no “1 fil”, although there have been 1 fils coins. Some sources may mistakenly use “fil” for these.
In 1965 there were six coins, all fils and ranging from 1 to 100. That initial 1 fils coin was removed from circulation in 1966. There have never been Bahraini dinar coins in general circulation; however, several collectible proof dinar coins have been produced by Bahrain and these are of course highly collectible among numismatists these days.
A Bahraini 100 fils coin from 1983.
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In 2000, Bahrain added a 500 fils coin (i.e., 1/2 dinar), bringing the total once more to six different coins in circulation.
Collecting Bahrain Coins: Tips and Ideas
Bahraini coins for sale to collectors today mostly include these general-use fils coins and of course the uncirculated proof coins. You can pick a special year and get a complete set of circulating coins minted that year. Or, you can choose a denomination – say, 100 fils – and try to get one from every year. If you have a real completist bent, start working on a complete set of Bahrain coins from every year.
The dinar proof coins are an especially interesting area of Bahrain coin collecting, if it suits your collection and your personality. There are many to choose from, and simply choosing the designs that inspire you is a more than acceptable approach. Whatever your style, there are Bahrain coins out there with your name on them. (And speaking of that, by collecting Bahrain coins you can even learn a little Arabic, if you don’t already know it.)
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There are a lot of Bahrain coins for sale at any one time in online marketplaces from a large variety of sellers. This has both good and bad implications for a collector and buyer. The good news, of course, is that you can hold back and only buy the ones that really appeal to you, since the selection changes so often. The trouble comes from the fact that you aren’t the only one keeping an eye on sales listings. It’s surprisingly easy to miss out on what you want because you took your eye off the ball.
So if you see something you like in the Bahrain coins world, don’t hesitate. But if you aren’t sure you really want it, don’t worry about hesitating and waiting for something better to come along. When the Bahrain collectible coins that you really want arrive at your house, it will all have been worth it. You’ll have years of pulling them out and admiring them ahead of you!
