Old Coins of Kuwait

Kuwait was administered by the British following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I just like other Gulf States. Kuwait old coins include mainly the Indian rupee and those of Ottoman Empire. It was replaced by the Gulf rupee in 1959. The Gulf Rupee lasted only until 1961 in Sovereign Emirate Kuwait before it was replaced by the Kuwaiti dinar (although the Gulf rupee remained in circulation elsewhere until 1966).

In 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Iraqi dinar replaced the Kuwaiti dinar as the monetary currency and large quantities of banknotes were stolen by the invading forces. The Kuwaiti dinar was restored as the country’s sole currency after liberation and new Kuwait coins and banknotes were introduced. The stolen currency was then demonized.

The Kuwaiti dinar is divided into 1000 Kuwaiti Fils and is the world’s highest valued currency. Kuwait coins have changed their designs since they were first minted. They portray a boom ship and year of minting on the obverse and Arabic value on the reverse.