THE Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) has issued a new set of medals to commemorate the Kingdom's great developmental strides under its rulers.
The Great Bahraini Rulers set comprises five gold-plated silver medals, depicting five Bahraini rulers and highlighting specific economic and social achievements that took place during each ruler's reign. Following are the rulers featured in the medal set: Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Majesty the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa
The obverse side bears an image of Shaikh Isa and a rim inscription bearing his name in Arabic and English and the years of his reign, 1869-1932.
The reverse side portrays the Al Hedaya Al Khalifia School, the first school to be established in the Gulf region, in 1919.
Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
The obverse side bears an image of Shaikh Hamad, with a rim inscription bearing his name in English and Arabic and years of his reign, 1932-1942.
The reverse side depicts Bahrain's first oil well, dug in Sakhir in 1932. The discovery of oil in Bahrain was the first such discovery in the Arabian Gulf.
Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa
The obverse side bears an image of Shaikh Salman, with a rim inscription bearing his name in Arabic and English and years of his reign, 1942-1961.
The reverse side depicts the Mina Salman Port, the Gulf region's first modern port, for which construction work began in 1956.
Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa
The obverse side bears an image of Shaikh Isa, with a rim inscription bearing his name in Arabic and English and years of his reign, 1961-1999.
The reverse side depicts some of the major developments that took place during his rule, including the Bahraini-Saudi Causeway, the Shaikh Isa Manama-Muharraq Bridge and the Al Fateh Mosque.
His Majesty the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
The obverse side bears an image of King Hamad, with a rim inscription bearing his name, as well as the words 'King of Bahrain' and '1999', the year Shaikh Hamad came to power.
The reverse side depicts a hand holding the National Charter, Bahrain's historic start to democracy, and a map of Bahrain's Hawar Islands.
All five medals come as a set in a display box, priced at BD65 per set. Each medal weighs 31 grams and has a diameter of 36mm and thickness of 2mm. The silver is of 99.9% purity, with gold plating on both sides.
A total of 500 sets are available for sale from BMA's Currency Issue Directorate.
© Bahrain Tribune 2004
